Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "concerts"

†††’s Live 2012

2012-02-06T06:32:23Z

It’s Friday night at Ace of Spades with Chino Moreno, lead vocalist of the Deftones, and Shaun Lopez, guitarist of Far, crossing over to a new experimental era with †††.

A line of tattooed girls with skin tight jeans slink through the crowd as fans trickle in. Over 500 people paid homage filling the bar, to near capacity with a mix of high school students, collegiate couples, 80’s heavy-metal fans, punk rockers and adult film models.

There were two openers Secret Empire, a six man band from Los Angeles and Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross from Chicago. Both bands were the opposite of the other, balancing a yin that sided on the side of heavy metal and the yang on the side of experimental electronic fusion.

The first, Connor Ragan (24), wrote all the songs for Secret Empire including “Plastic Wrist” and “Alien Burial.” His bizarre mohawk, a deep blond, contrast with his black long-sleeved threads and jeans evoked a dark confidence in a young idealist wanting to be noticed in a conservative world.

The second, Dexter Tortoriello (25), of Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross was more understated. In a gray t-shirt and plastic-rimmed glasses, he tested the limits of a synchronized drum machine, a Mac, and a microphone hypnotizing the crowd with "White Sun" and “Blacks.” The entire set included a civil rights speech and the song Ave Maria layered with electronica sounds.

Connor Griffith, a senior from Mira Loma High who scored tickets through an online guitar site was in the audience impressed by the varied styles of music. He was excited to finally see Moreno, the former Deftones vocalist, who is not only a role model to teens everywhere but also his own fourteen year old son.

An altar of crosses await. The †††’s color change from hot pink to turquoise blue to a pure white light. The fine line of rock music and religion dilate. The audience is almost inclined to dunk their fingers in holy water. Then again, within these walls, there is plenty of sin.

“We’ll drink from the waves and feel our souls. We’ll fall asleep on the graves and seal our souls,” Moreno’s deep melodic tone shrills in “Holy Ghost.”

Dino Campanella and Chris Robyn then elevate with drums, facing each other to the lyrics of the song, “This is a Trick (Hello Hello I Know)."

On keyboard and guitar, Jono Evans and Chuck Doom summoned a calypso rhythm to “Bermuda Locket.” The lyrics ignite a light, "just come this way and I will bring you to life."

Lopez lures the audience deeper with the forbidden “Frontiers,” sailing off into the sun to rediscover the height of “Prurient.”

“Back in Sac, what's up?” Moreno yells at the top of his lungs. The crowd jumps at his beckon, the light of their phones waving in recognition, seizing the moment to welcome a hero. They wave their hands in empathy, accepting their star with “Telepathy.”

After all Moreno, originally came from Sacramento. A moved fan snuck on stage to pay respect, then hurled himself at the spectators. As long as you let me play, I’ll let you win.

The mood then changes as the synthesizer blaze to a somber, “1987.”

“A shoebox of ashes, a silver casket, a mother dressed for eternities, breathe in the waves.” His words reminise on identities, lost, and graves.

Shaking it off, Moreno says, “I want to dance. This is so much fun. I’m so glad that we are here. This song goes out to my pops and Uncle Chi (a tribute to Deftones bassist Chi Cheng who was left in a coma after a 2008 car accident),” as he transitioned to “Trophy.”

He then embraced fans, holding their hands to the call of “Option.” Moreno’s profound evolution, with Crosses, his fear surrendered to what is dear.

“Just open your heart and say, ‘I swear on the cross. Can you promise this to the grave?’”

Lights dim to the ringing of church bells. The music is his calling. A promise to give it all as Crosses return with an encore, the “Years” and another EP in the works for 2012.

Blues for Life 2011

2011-09-30T09:04:07Z

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. In Sacramento, the festivities kick off with Blues for Life at The Torch Club , a live music festival & pasta cook-off from 1pm to 7pm on October 2.

Ten bands, 10 restaurants, and a five-year Sac town tradition, this event is the primary fundraiser for Albie Aware, a foundation that brings preventive care, support, and education for those with breast cancer or seeking assistance for early detection and treatment.

“If treated early, cancer fatality can diminish with the proper care,” commented Doug Carson. In 2002, his wife Albie Carson, a 50 year resident of Sacramento, lost the battle with cancer because the tumor was caught too late.

This loss prompted him to build a legacy to help others stay alive.

Albie Aware as in I’ll be Aware provides the social, educational, and in many ways, financial support for those who otherwise would not be able to afford adequate health coverage essential for breast cancer survival like MRI, PET scan, medicines, or even a simple insurance co-pay.

Last year, more than 1,500 people in Northern California were recipients of some kind of care from the organization.

In 2010, according to the American Cancer Society, there will be 209,060 new cases of breast cancer in the United States. 40,230 of those discovered will result in death of which 4,230 will be in California.

So think of it. For only $20, you will not only be able to get your blues on, grub on, early Christmas shopping on, but you will a join a movement to help save thousands of lives of men and women affected by cancer.

Now, that is a great deal.

Bands include: The Nibblers, Mercy Me, Walking Spanish, Kaye Bohler, Ron Hacker, Gino Matteo, Bone MacDonald, Sista Monica, Trubaduo Pailer, and Adams & Joyce.

The Competing Pasta Cook-off Restaurants are Blue Prynt Restaurant & Bar, Clark’s Corner, Evan’s Kitchen, House Kitchen & Bar, Lucca Restaurant & Bar, Mama Susanna’s, Ristorante Italiano, Michelangelo’s Italian Restaurant, and Rio City Café.

There will also be a silent auction with over fifty raffle items complete with a Flat screen TV, signed art works, exotic trips, local restaurant entertainment, gift certificates, and so much more.

Buy your tickets early by clicking HERE or at Torch Club on Sunday.

Rock Allegiance tour comes to Power Balance Pavilion Sunday

2011-09-24T06:31:45Z

The Rock Allegiance Tour will blow out Power Balance Pavilion this Sunday at 5 p.m. The early kickoff time is necessary to accommodate the packed lineup. Papa Roach and Buckcherry headline the lucky list of seven bands that includes Puddle of Mudd, P.O.D., Red, Crossfade and Drive A.

I talked with singer/songwriter, Jacoby Shaddix, the founder, and only remaining original member of Papa Roach about the tour, and what’s happening with the band.

Jacoby Shaddix, the founder and only remaining original member of Papa Roach, grew up in Vacaville, where the band graduated high school together before relocating to Sacramento. He says the Rock Allegiance appearance will be the last opportunity for fans to see the band perform live before they go off the radar and into the studio.

“Last chance to dance, bitches, ‘cause we’re gonna be away making a record!” he said.

Shaddix and guitarist Jerry Horton are die-hard Northern Californians, while Tobin Esperance and Tony Palermo have relocated to L.A. The band has a recording studio in downtown Sacramento where they’ll be putting together the record. While Shaddix says P. Roach (as he refers to the band) has a lucrative recording deal, the real money, he assured, is still in touring. But it isn’t the only reason they spend time on the road.

“Live shows bring people out of the woodwork and together,” he said. “It forges friendships.”

He says the Rock Allegiance Tour has significance for aspiring artists.

“All the bands on this tour are independent,” which, he says, is unusual. “It proves a (group) doesn’t always have to have major-label backing to be a success.”

Shaddix is particularly excited about the Sacramento gig — “a great way to wind up 2011” — because the band will be shooting a live music video. They teamed up with a local radio station [which one?] to provide a group of fans with video cameras. He figures the combination of live music and fan and audience participation should take things up a few notches.

“It’ll be a killer show from beginning to end!”

Whirring in The Joy Formidable at Harlow's

2011-09-12T09:08:36Z

The band’s name says it all. Joy, an emotion evoked by well being, success, and good fortune or the prospect of having one’s desires. Formidable, a feeling of awe and admiration from grandeur and great strength combines the artistry of the trio formed in 2007 from North Wales -- Ritzy Bryan on guitar and vocals, Rhydian Dafydd on bass guitar, and Matt Thomas on drums.

This is a band that should be seen live. The recorded music, especially the new song “Whirring,” is good. But the trio thrives before live audiences.

Live, the band lives up to its name projecting a soul-filling joy. Whether you are a sweaty youth in the crowded mosh pit or a 40-something professional grooving to the band from the safety of the bar, Joy Formidable delivers. Ritzy Bryan’s guitar riffs, her voice even her facial expressions were all delivered with charismatic intensity. The concert, in the tight confines of Harlow’s, was one Mr. Toad’s wild ride.

This band is ideal for open air performances in front of thousands of people like Outside Lands Music Festival and Lollapalooza. Harlow’s was way too small of a venue to contain The Joy Formidable. To see the band in a more intimate venue is a lucky break for Sacramento. Kudos to Radio 94.7 for arranging the band’s appearance.

The trio has developed a buzz around the song “Whirring,” from the EP “The Big Roar,” with Foo Fighters’ front-man Dave Grohl tweeting that it could be the 2011 song of the year. I thought Grohl’s tweet was over the top until I saw the band. “Whirring” is best enjoyed live -- the band’s full intensity comes through.

The mix of mellow intellectuals chilling at the bar with hard rockers thumping up a storm showed the wide range of people who enjoy this loud, alt rock, shoegazing, band that combines edgy heavy metal with choral pop. The Joy Formidable is steadily developing a larger fan base by incorporating what's cool in other types of music to create their own.

Ritzy Bryan knows how to connect. In her black suede long sleeve frock, icy blond symmetrical coif, and tights with short boots, she jumped, trashed about, and broke through a highly optimistic, bubbly persona with manic depressive anger and rage. Her expressions changed erratically from innocence to jerky runaway robot pushing that velocity into a see-saw of pink clouds. High fives with fans and eye contact engaged concert goers, even those wedged in the crevices of the club.

They played “A Heavy Abacus”,” Greyhounds in the Slips”, “Austere”, “Ostrich”, “The Greatest Light is the greatest shade”, “Cradle”, “Buoy”, and “Whirring”. They also came back for an encore performance with “Magnify” and “I don’t want to see you like this”.

Just so you don’t feel left out, here’s a treat --front row seats to "Whirring" at Harlow’s, and you don’t even have to brave the mosh pit. Once you see this video, we’re convinced you’ll want to see The Joy Formidable live too.

Fans like the Mota family drove all the way from Reno, Nevada because they wanted to see the band again. The first time at Outside Lands, the second at Harlow’s on Saturday night. “I kind of wish I brought my fourteen year old son.” commented Debbie Mota, 47. “He would have rocked with that drummer,” she adds.

The Naked and Famous at Harlow's

2011-09-02T08:49:39Z

On the last day of August, Harlows was filled with a crowd of stadium-sized intensity. The New Zealand indie rock band defined The Naked and Famous philosophy. Naked in the way that Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers vocal combination brought the crowd to climax then mellowed down to rise again, in roller coaster action.

Auckland’s five-piece delivered exquisite dream pop, oscillating between the calculatedly energetic beat, glitzy rhythms, and airy synthesizers underneath.

Xayalith wearing all black, in a long sleeve top, mini skirt, tights, and short boots was definitely not naked but sexy nonetheless, confident in her barely five-foot tall frame. She was smoking! She faced the drummer in the back to regroup between songs, refresh, and wipe the sweat off her brow, or fall in exhaustion.

Fans waited over an hour to mesh with the electronica lifestyle offered by this up and coming band nominated for the BBC’s Sound of 2011 and topping the New Zealand chart at No.1 in 2010 – the first New Zealand artist in three years to do so.

The show was like air for the 20-somethings whose exchange with the band appeased their needs and vice versa. The “Passive Me Aggressive You” debut album released in September of 2010 definitely caters to the young, whose lyrical obsessions center around love, mistakes, sleep, and parties.

Hollywood has discovered the band and Wednesday’s set featured several songs used in TV shows. “Punching in a Dream” was featured in Vampire Diaries. With its care-free lyrics and upbeat electronic dance discord, that song set the mood for the night at Harlow’s. “The Sun” a tantalizing song, and “Young Blood” were both used in the tv show Gossip Girl.

Also in Wednesday’s set, “The Bells” enchanted. “Eyes” and “DADADA” saw and freed the spirit of youth. Calmed by Xayalith’s vibe was the pairing of an acoustic guitar in the beginning of “No Way” then picked up again into upbeat rhythm running with “Girls Like You.”

An edge of MGMT and Radiohead was present in the repertoire. Powers and Xayalith said they grew up listening to Massive Attack, Bjork, PJ Harvey and Tricky.

But their intensity, like their sound, is really all their own. After six months of constant touring, this band of four dudes in T-shirts and jeans with a hot Asian doll in the middle still had plenty of energy.

“It sure is full in here. We’re coming back.” Powers still trying to catch his breath from the performance.

They did with an encore and the crowd went home sweaty and satisfied.

The "Inspiracion" of Calexico

2011-08-24T09:16:20Z

How does Calexico, a relatively low key Americana/ Alternative country rock band keep the momentum going after two decades?

They never seize to experiment with rhythms & ballads reaching new heights in what the fans crave.

Calexico embraces Latin sounds of mariachi, conjunto, cumbia, and Tejano music and fuses it with Southwestern country, '50s-'60s jazz, and '90s post rock. Their signature sound is "desert noir" reminiscent of the border city of Calexico.

For many who have never experienced Calexico’s live performance, their poetic storytelling approach to music captures audiences then beams them up to beach surf cities, matador bull rings, outer space, tango milongas and flamenco cafes, western vistas, and undiscovered European and Asian empires.

A woman going through a cancer ordeal shared on Facebook, “Going to get lost in the music tonight. …Calexico take me away!”

“I have all their albums in my iPod,” Alex Lackner, a physical therapist/yoga instructor from Vienna, Austria admits. He is quite possibly one of the group’s most dedicated fans. Alex has been crisscrossing the country from Los Angeles, to Albuquerque, to Denver, to Sacramento in the last six months and managed to attend other venues on the band’s tour including one in Saratoga on his birthday.

Barely making the concert at Ace of Spades after an eight-hour train delay due to flooding along the Mississippi river. He was thrilled to make Calexico’s first song of the night, Roka (Danza de la Muerte), which was from their fifth studio album Garden Ruin.

“A couple of years ago, I saw them in Vienna. They opened for Amos Lee. Now Amos Lee is touring with them in the northwest,” Lackner shares one his many pieces of Calexico of trivia. He plans on making the August 26th show at Chateau St Michele in Washington as well before returning to Austria.

The opening band for Calexico in Sacramento was a group with local roots, Sea of Bees. Led by Julie Baenziger, a resonating soprano, and co-vocalist Amber Padgett (an alumnus of the Waldorf School of the Arts in Fair Oaks) the Sea of Bees set include fan favorite “Gnomes” and some new material.

Baenziger's unique voice was a perfect pairing to Calexico’s eclectic sound.

Calexico’s set included “Man Made Lake” and “Two Silver Trees” – both from the 2008 CD, "Carried to Dust," – with a haunting futuristic space age texture. They also played “Sunken Waltz” a contemplative mellow tune from the 2003 CD “Feast of Wire,” which some critics and fans regard as their best CD. One of the most memorable songs was Minas de Cobre (For Better Metal) an instrumental with deft interplay of Spanish style guitar and two trumpets.

"Inspiración" was the night’s capstone. Trumpet player Jacob Valenzuela showed off his vocal abilities, singing in Spanish on this 2008 song about his relationship with his brother. His performance was breathtaking, a serenade complete with solo jazz trumpet instrumental. It is cupid’s arrow of love,a romance inspiration for the crowd. You can view it here.

The audience applause signaled deep appreciation but they hungered for more, Calexico returned onstage for an encore performance of Alone Again, a lovely cover of the 1967 classic by the late Arthur Lee and his band Love.

The finale “Guero Canelo” is one crazy party mix. A novice will say that the lyrics describe the high life of drugs and rebellion in Tucson (“Guero Canelo” roughly translates as ‘cinnamon blond’ in Mexican Spanish and there is a famous Mexican restaurant in Tucson of the same name) but a more refined follower like Lackner can attest to another secret hidden in the third stanza of the lyrics -- the high is not from drugs but the music of an exotic Latin-inspired indie rock six-man band, Calexico, brought together by two fair gringos, Joey Burns and John Convertino who enlighten fans for more decades to come.

Soul searching for Sugarland

2011-08-24T04:25:08Z

The Incredible Machine Tour, featuring Sugarland paired with one of several other artists, has already been tried and tested. Earlier this month, the band witnessed a tragic accident at the Indiana State Fair when high winds knocked down portions of the stage, killing six and injuring many others.

After almost a week off, Sugarland members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush turned back to their music for comfort. According to the Associated Press, their show in Albuquerque, the first since the accident, was a somber affair. The group devoted a minute of silence to those lost and injured.

At present, the Raley Field pairing with Sara Bareilles is scheduled to go on, though saddened fans and spectators may find a grieving duo rather than the bright, award winning stars that they were expecting.

A private memorial service is being planned for those in Indiana who were affected by the horrific accident. According to Sugarland’s blog, they got back on the road and back on tour as soon as they could.

“We have always celebrated music as a Healer,” reads their latest post.

Sugarland has sold more than eight million records and has won various CMA, Grammy and ACM awards. In 2011 alone, they won an Academy of Country Music Award for Top Vocal Duo of the Year and a Country Music Television award for Duo Video of the Year for “Stuck Like Glue.”

The country duo will be joined by Sara Bareilles in West Sacramento. Bareilles is a singer, songwriter and pianist, and is most well known for her 2007 single, "Love Song." Raley Field spectators should hear some favorites from her first album, “Little Voice,” as well as new material from her 2010 album, “Kaleidoscope Heart.”

Following Thursday's performance, Sugarland is scheduled to play at the Shoreline Amphitheatre on Friday, August 23. Sara Bareilles will perform again with Sugarland on August 27 in Las Vegas.

(S)harp Dressed Man

2011-08-10T05:21:54Z

If you’ve seen him, you remember him.

Even sans his slick sharkskin suits, Rick Estrin cuts a remarkable figure in his Buddy Holly specs and perfectly coiffed pompadour. You may even have seen him cruising in a vintage Cadillac, and looked to see how soon the rest of the parade would follow.

These days, the cars spend most of their time in the garage, but for the past few years, Estrin has been leading Rick Estrin and the Nightcats through performances from Tennessee to Turkey

I’ve been a fan since the eighties when Little Charlie and the Nightcats used to play Melarkey’s and Sutter Street Saloon with great regularity. The band had drew was a friendly and familiar crowd, who weren’t concerned about their lack of dance skills, a relief during an otherwise dance-crazed decade. Charlie Baty played a mean guitar and managed the group, bringing the Nightcats from a successful local band, to an Alligator Records act that was in demand around the world.

If there were times—and there were many—that audience members mistook Estrin for Little Charlie because he and his harmonica and vocals fronted the band, he graciously deferred. Today, given that Charlie’s name no longer even appears on the marquee since his retirement in 2008, Estrin has been known to handle fans requesting Charlie’s autograph or a picture with him, differently.

“Sometimes I try to correct them,” he says, but then he chuckles, “Sometimes it’s just easier to give them what they ask for; avoids a lot of fights.”

Like so many life-long musicians, he taught himself to play, “I heard these Jimmy Reed records, and something about it really moved me. I got myself an instrument and listened to those records over and over till I could play ‘em.”

He grew up in San Francisco, a part of all of the social chaos that defined the era and its music. Exciting for a musician, but a little over the top, at times on a personal level, so he headed for Chicago to explore new sounds.

In 1976, he caught a Greyhound to Sacramento with an invitation to play in a band called the Nightcats, and a relationship with heroin he was pretty sure he wanted to leave. Fortunately, both plans worked.

I asked him if he was aware that he was a fairly well-known role model for musicians trying to get into and stay in recovery?

“Really?”

I told him if I was aware of his influence, not being an addict myself, the word must be pretty well out there.

“That’s cool, I guess, if it helps people. I’ve had twenty-six years without any drugs or alcohol now, and I’ve just kept doing the same thing that works for me. My dad died when I was fifteen, so in the beginning, a lot of what I got from going to meetings was just how to operate like a man. Those old timers probably had no idea what to think of me, ‘cause I was this young musician and they were businessmen. But I’d never been exposed to those kind of manners and lifestyles. They helped me buy my first car, and my first insurance; they taught me social skills.”

As most musicians will attest, making music a lifestyle, and making music a living seldom happen simultaneously or as soon as they would like. Estrin sold men’s clothing, worked as a janitor—a job he says he particularly liked at the time—and as a longshoreman, which after a few lousy assignments, became the most convenient way to earn good money with his union status. He admits, it wasn’t his best gig, though.

“The most successful times were when I had a girlfriend with a good job,” he smiles, “That worked pretty good.”

I asked him when he first realized he’d be able to earn money as professional musician. He thought about it for a minute. “I don’t think I ever had that moment, exactly. I think more what happened was that I couldn’t face doing anything else anymore.”

He pauses, as if remembering the former grind, “It was about five years before we started making records and really took off. But we were playing a lot regionally, pretty regularly, doing good. I was working as longshoreman, paying my union dues. And one day I just couldn’t do it. It was just too depressing. I guess that’s when I decided it was all or nothing. I just couldn’t go back.” It seems to have been a good decision. “It’s worked out all right, I guess,” he says with a grin.

Rick Estrin and the Nightcats will play The Palms in Winters Saturday 8/13 at 8:30pm. More information on Estrin and the band can be found at rickestrin.com

Sacramento Banana Festival

2011-07-12T05:43:22Z

The 2011 Banana Festiva will celebrate art, culture, music, diversity, heatlh and wellness, going green with composting and food. The array of food this year will be a Banana Spitacular line up!!!

Menu

Banana Snow Cones
Frozen mashed/blended bananas with or without strawberries (ice cream consistency)
Plantain Chips (Packets)
Fried Plantains
Frozen Banana dipped in chocolate and nuts
Banana Tortilla Dessert
Long Banana Lumpia
Banana Cotton Candy
Green Banana Ice Tea
Banana Strawberry Smoothies
Jollof Rice with plantain
Banana Taffy
Banana Pies, Tea Cakes, Cookies, and Banana Pudding
Banana Mango Salsa and Banana Mango Soup
Banana Tempura
Banana Tamales
Banana Fritters
Banana Pop Corn
Grilled Banana's

Other Fesitval Highlights:
National Academic Youth Corps will be presenting the 2nd annual Banana Festival-celebrating community, art, culture and health from August 13th through August 14th at William Land Park in Sacramento, California. The Banana Festival will host an extensive lineup of music, art, food and entertainment at the 2011 Banana Festival. This year’s festival will continue to celebrate healthy lifestyles and eating as well as the many cultures in Asia, Africa and the Americas which use the banana as a source of food, art and culture.

This year’s festival promises to be very special with help from other partners stepping up to support our endeavors. Disc Dogs of the Golden State will sponsor a free performance. International Art & Design Technology will provide a free Banana themed fashion show, Mullingan's will provide a Banana pancake breakfast. The Banana Chef challenge will be sponsored by Eastbay Restaurant Supplies and Cuisine Noir Magazine and Sky Resort will be providing a free 7 Day trip to Hawaii.

Fairy Tale town will host our children's youth exhibit featuring: Freeport Elementary School and Very Special Arts. We will also feature the Techno Art exhibit provided by youth from Roberts Family Development Center. Additionally Fairytale town will give 50% off for all festival goers to enter into Fairytale town. General Produce will be sponsoring over 1000 pounds of Banana's, UBantu Green will help sponsor the Going Green with composting, and Schools Credit Union will sponsor the Banana Education Art Contest (B.E.A). Musical Instruments N Kids Hands will bring will provide the Mobile Music Truck, Rebecca Davis will provide free books, American Heart Association will provide a Family Health History Tree activity for kids. Washington Neighborhood Center will be making Monkey Head Piñatas, to get the audience up and moving Tina B. & the Soul Line Dancers will perform Banana Line Dancing, Samoria Lamuse will dedicate a performance honoring Josephine Baker and Cap City Stunt Team will provide a captivating performance.

New Sponsors: Kaiser Permanente, Sacramento Arts Commission, Councilmember Jay Schenirer District #5, Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, Local Union 185 and PGE

Addtional Highlights will include:
Banana carnival
Banana Themed Arts and Crafts
Inflatable slides/Jumpers
Banana foods from around the world: Bananadellias, Banana Dog, Banana Taffy, Banana Cake, Banana Pies, Banana Cookies, Banana Pudding, Banana Soup, Banana Salsa, Banana Shish Kabob, Banana Tempera, Banana Pop Corn, Banana Fritters, Grilled Banana’s and Banana Tamales
Banana Community awards (Honoring Ecuadorian Farm Workers and Lee Perkins and Andréa Gomez formerly of radio station 101.1)
Banana Golf tournament
Banana 2011 Festival Queen is Marisa Adams
“All About Bananas” Visual Art Exhibition provided by the Kuumba Art Gallery and featured art group Women’s Wisdom
Give-a-ways (2 trips) provided by Banana Beach Resort

Children’s Stage
Roberts Development Children’s choir
Phoenix Park Multicultural Children’s choir
Crane Theater Performance Group
Little Miss and Mr. Banana Pageant
Children's banana split eating contest
Banana music and dancing with kids
Magic Show
Local youth dance performances provided by: The Diplomatz and Lines School of Performing Arts and Grant High School Drum line
Interactive & Upbeat International Banana Folktales provided by Angela James of Fenix Dance & Drum.
Banana recycles fashions (Burbank High school)

Main Stage
Banana Fashion show
Chef Challenge
Adult banana split eating contest
Cap City Stunt Team
Cultural Performances and Live Bands

Funds raised from the Sacramento Banana Festival will help benefit a variety of local non-profits that provide free art education and outreach to local children and youth in Sacramento. Visit http://www.bananafest.org/ for event details

Sac Horror Film Fest's first concert series

2011-06-27T04:59:34Z

Friday night at the Colonial Theater marked the first time the Sac Horror Film Festival hosted its Music By Dark concert series. Festival founder, director and programmer Tim Meunier pulled together four rock and industrial bands for an energetic and fun performance for all ages.

The opening band of the evening, In the Silence, was added last minute to the lineup. The band was missing two members and played as a trio. The lack of members might have made their sound slightly superficial, but their performance was not lacking in spirit.

They opened with “All the Pieces,” a song which can be found on the group’s MySpace page. The long-haired trio’s sound was fairly radio-friendly and warmed up the audience for the next bands to come.

While local industrial group Savi0r was setting up, vocalist Adam Jones told jokes to keep the audience entertained. After telling his joke about Super Mario’s favorite clothing material (“denim denim denim”), the mic was passed through the audience for other people to tell their jokes — quite an interesting way to keep people involved and hyped for the show.

Savi0r’s set was driven not only by their synthy beats and dancey songs such as “Nepenthe Vim,” but also by the fans who have watched the band evolve and change over the years. Fans left their chairs and surrounded the stage, dancing and singing along to their favorite songs, as well as a few songs that had never been performed before.

Savi0r recently created their first music video and official website in preparation for the release of their new album, “Seduced to Nothing.” The band currently has a sampler of three songs out to promote the new record.

Mankind Is Obsolete was third to take the stage. The band’s live sound is quite different from its recorded album sound. MKIO’s albums trend toward synthy, dancey industrial music, but their live performance has a distinct rock ’n’ roll edge to it.

“Usually people who haven’t heard us live but have listened to the CDs tell us we’re very energetic as a live act,” bassist Gordon Bash said. “It’s very much like a higher energy rock band, but it still of course happens to have that base of electro.”

MKIO played songs that ranged from mournful and slow to chaotic and crazy. If singer Natasha Cox was not holding the audience captive with her melodic vocals, she was blasting them out of their seats with her guttural growl.

Bands these days generally don’t like their sound to be categorized easily, and MKIO is no exception.

While guitarist Scott Landes succinctly described MKIO as “hybrid, electronic rock music,” drummer Jon Siren feels differently.

“We take whatever path we decide to go on, and hopefully the musicianship that we have as a band links it all together,” Siren said. “But if you need a specific definition, it’s definitely electronic, synth-based rock. That would be a very generic way of putting it. But hopefully the music is a lot more that that.”

Thus far, MKIO has released three full-length albums and a remix album. The band has been together for 10 years, which is no small feat according to Cox.

“For anybody that’s been in a band, it’s a labor of love,” she said. “There is a lot of sacrifice. There’s an enormous amount of time and energy and money that have to go into it, so it’s one of those things that if you really believe in what you’re doing, then it makes it all worth it. Obviously, for us it’s worth it.”

Clad in all black in true industrial rocker fashion, I:Scintilla, a group from Chicago, was the final band of the night.

Rather then clashing with the rest of the band’s aggressive, intimidating sound, lead singer Brittany Bindrim’s siren-like vocals complemented them nicely. She danced and swayed seductively, treating the audience to songs such as “Worth the Wait” and “Ammunition,” both off of I:Scintilla’s latest album, “Dying and Falling.”

“Our music is metal-infused electronica with female vocals,” Bindrim said. “Our live shows are definitely very guitar-driven, very rock — more like a rock show. There are some songs that are a bit more moshy and some with sequenced electronics.”

The high point of I:Scintilla’s performance was “Swimmers Can Drown,” which the group has just made a music video for. The song is not only catchy but also fun to dance to.

In the future, I:Scintilla hopes to do another full U.S. tour and possibly a European tour as well. There might even be an EP in the works.

Although the concert was not a sold out show, the Sac Horror Film Fest crew deserves props for throwing together a rock show, especially one that is suitable and appropriate for people of all ages. Hopefully SHFF can continue its Music By Dark concert series, but no word yet from Meunier if this will be the case.

Britney Spears does it again on Femme Fatale World Tour

2011-06-18T06:37:52Z

What do fireworks, whips, chains and a pink convertible with a stripper pole all have in common?

Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale World Tour, naturally.

Spears pulled out all the stops Thursday night at Power Balance Pavilion during the sold-out first performance on her 56-show tour.

While backstage minutes before showtime, Spears expressed her excitement over the start of her tour to her Facebook fans:

“It’s opening night BITCH!!!!!!!!”

The tour’s opener, up-and-coming female rapper Nicki Minaj, set the action-packed tone for the evening with a shoot-out scene opposite a ninja-like character. Minaj set the wardrobe bar high, donning a platinum blond wig, neon green shoes and black spandex with PVC-like detailing a la Lady Gaga.

She revved up the crowd’s energy with “Save Me” and “Moment for Life,” along with Young Money’s “Bed Rock.”

The audience vocalized their approval for Minaj’s spitfire rhymes but anxiously awaited Spears’ entrance. Near-hysteria broke out when Spears finally took the stage. The mostly female crowd erupted in deafening screams that sounded more like an audience of middle-schoolers at a Justin Bieber concert.

Her 22-song set pleased old and new die-hard fans alike. The show opened and closed with current hits, “Hold It Against Me” and “Till the World Ends” respectively and was sprinkled with classics like “...Baby One More Time,” “Toxic” and “Womanizer.”

Lesser-known but well-received was the body-thumping and appropriately titled single “Big Fat Bass” and the exclusive “Up N’ Down” from the deluxe version of her album “Femme Fatale.”

In typical Spears fashion, the flawless choreography and barely there wardrobe oozed sexuality throughout the entire show. Her costumes left little to the imagination, with bedazzled bras and panties-a-plenty, rear end-skimming cut-off shorts and a plethora of sequins and lace.

To allow Spears time for her multiple wardrobe changes, a film series played intermittently between the sets. In the short videos, a stalker-like character spies on Spears’ alter-egos through surveillance cameras. She outsmarts her would-be captor in perfect timing for her next song.

During “I’m a Slave 4 U,” a nipple-clamped “slave” (presumably the stalker) donning a ball, gag and other bondage gear, was whipped and tortured in a naughty video montage on the big screen.

Spears’ set designer clearly worked overtime preparing over-the-top props and stage effects for the tour. Along with smoke and lights, a swing hoisted Spears into the air and a people-mover created a floating effect. An oversized guitar and speakers fit for King Kong, motorcycles and pyrotechnics completed the visual ecstasy.

Spears ended the night by inviting pre-selected fans onstage to dance. With fireworks in the background and confetti cannons showering the audience, the jaw-dropping show ended with club hit “Till the World Ends.”

On a high from a successful tour kick-off performance, Spears posted another status after the show:

“Can't sleep. WAY too much adrenaline right now. Sacramento was on fire tonight...!”

A decade after her first hit, Spears is still on fire too. She did it again.

Spears will tour the United States until her Raleigh, N.C., show on Aug. 25. She will take a month-long break before heading to Europe, ending the tour in Portugal on Nov. 9.

Photo credit: Randy Miramontez, Randy's Fine Art Photography

Jack's Mannequin, Ace of Spades

2011-06-17T05:05:43Z

“One more song! One more song!” chanted Jack's Mannequin fans at Ace of Spades on Wednesday night, that quickly turned into “Three more songs! Three more songs!”

Talk about an encore. Talk about a show.

“You feelin' sexy Sacramento?” yelled Andrew McMahon, 28, lead vocalist and pianist of Jack's Mannequin. He may be a security guard’s nightmare with all his crowd surfing and climbing on equipment such as, speakers and his piano; but he is also a ticket-buyer’s dream because he is quite the entertainer.

The show started at 7 p.m. with more than 800 people in attendance. Lady Danville, an indie pop band from the Bay Area was up first, and Steel Train, an indie rock band from New Jersey, followed. Lady Danville’s singers had a very smooth and crisp sound to their voices with great harmonization, while Steel Train had a more rebellious, energetic and cutting-edge sound.

The lighting and sound were not over done, a little color with spotlights and the speakers were not blasting at an ear-bleeding level. Allowing the focus to be on the pure and organic sounds of the voices and instruments.

Tickets were $30.95, and judging by the smiles flooding the room even after the first two performers, people were satisfied with what they were getting.

However, the crowd was only swaying some and clapping when encouraged, having a medium energy level up until Jack's Mannequin played the hit, “The Mixed Tape,” from the CD, “Everything In Transit.” Everyone went wild, jumping a bit and singing along loudly. Which continued as most of what was played was from that album.

McMahon was originally from Orange County and part of a band called Something Corporate. Now he is a part of Jack's Mannequin, an alternative punk rock band with three other members: Bobby "Raw" Anderson on guitar and backup vocals, Jay McMillan on drums and new bass player Mikey “The Kid” Wagner.

“I've been listening to them for a while,” said concert attendee Tracey Huey, 22. “They have really good melodies.”

The musicians also got praise for several other areas that fans feel they have much expertise in.

“I really like the lyrics,” said concert attendee Elisia Hoffman, 18, as she turned to her friend, Lisa Monagle, also 18, who said, “(McMahon) incorporates the piano with a 'normal band' sound, and I like that.”

Most audience members were between the ages of 18 and 30 and excited that Jack's Mannequin is now finally back on tour.

In June 2005, McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cancer of the white blood cells) and somehow managed to make a full recovery. He is also now currently involved in many fundraising opportunities related to cancer and provides support to patients and families.

“His back story is cool, how he had leukemia and everything. It's so inspirational,” Huey said.

By McMahon's performance, it is obvious to see that he is living every moment to the fullest now.

Ace of Spades, the old location of both Empire Night Club and Venue, didn't change much of its look and feel, and yet it appears to be the upcoming place to be and to get booked at in Sacramento. The place was packed and the atmosphere very casual and modern, despite the dim lights and boxy shape, it did not feel overcrowded.

The only downfalls to the venue is that there is very limited seating and that the servers had to walk out from a back room with food and drinks all the way around everyone, pushing through a sea of bodies to get to the 21-and-over section where they were serving it.

The service was very polite, though, and they even had some free samples of drinks they were serving to people in the audience, like red bull mixed with raspberry and cheery syrups.

Ace of Spades will no doubt be packed all summer if it stays booked up with performers like Lady Danville, Steel Train and Jack's Mannequin.

Good lyrics, melodies, crazy talent on the piano and an inspirational story to boot – what's not to like?

To get in on all the action and for more information about upcoming shows visit Ace of Spades online.

Or find everyone on Facebook:
Ace of Spades
Jack's Mannequin
Lady Danville
Steel Train

Lovett and Hiatt: low-key delight

2011-06-13T04:33:50Z

As spring weather finally arrived in Sacramento on Friday, the Grove at the Radisson once again became a lovely small-venue showcase for some impressive musical talent.

Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt graced the stage on the eighth stop of their 25-city acoustic tour.

Both performers are known for their acoustic guitar work and their laid-back country-flavored songs about travelin’ and trucks, railroads and rivers, and horses and women and loneliness and love.

That about sums up Friday’s performance: just two middle-aged guys with guitars, sitting quietly on stage, trading off tunes and some gentle ribbing.

The crowd of about 2,000 fans loved every minute.

Hiatt ran through some of his older work, including haunting ballads “Buffalo River Home” and “Have a Little Faith in Me” and quirky comic whoop-and-holler songs “Tennessee Plates” and “Perfectly Good Guitar.” His guitar licks sparkled through bluegrass and blues and good old rock ‘n’ roll, and he was obviously having a great time.

Lovett’s mien was calm, nearly deadpan, even as he poked some fun at his friend’s seersucker jacket. His renditions of “Private Conversation,” “If I Had a Boat” and “Old Friend” were moving and sweet. His finger-picked “One Thing I Like About That,” a blues song from the 1920s, was lightning fast, and the Grateful Dead song “Friend of the Devil” further displayed his bluegrass talent. “My Baby Don’t Tolerate” was tongue-in-cheek blues, fast and fun.

The duo sang only a few songs together. Hiatt’s “Thing Called Love,” made famous by Bonnie Raitt, was one collaboration that had the audience dancing in their seats.

As Lovett recounted, these two friends started singing and touring together in 1989 and came together every few years to swap songs and play a few gigs.

Hiatt has released 19 well-received albums, has been nominated 11 times for Grammys and his new album is due Aug. 2. Lovett has released 13 albums and has won four Grammy awards. He has written music for many films and for television and has also developed an acting career.

Combichrist draws crowd of 'electroheads' to Ace of Spades

2011-05-19T16:55:32Z

Tuesday night Ace of Spades featured a lineup of four hyper-aggressive and extremely animated bands.

Blownload, a Sacramento-based group, opened the set. Although he’s a heftier gentleman, lead vocalist Erie Loch possessed an amazing amount of liveliness. He made concert-goers laugh at his dirty sex jokes and inappropriate gestures, all without stalling the music.

Another group called Star Killer came all the way from New York. The group’s sound was a mixture of good old fashioned punk rock and ‘90s metal. They played songs off their new EP such as “The Hunt” and “As the Sky is Falling,” and were kind enough to hang out and chat with fans in between sets.

The third group to take the stage was iVardensphere, a duo from Canada who brought no traditional instruments with them on stage at all. Instead, they donned black leather aprons over white jumpsuits and rocked out at their individual synth stations. iVardensphere transformed Ace of Spades from a rock and roll venue to a goth club instantly. The floor became a mass of dancing people clad in all black, huge boots, and fishnets.

Finally it was Combichrist’s turn to hype up the crowd.

For anyone who has never heard Combichrist’s music or attended one of their shows, suffice it to say that both the albums and the group’s live performances are brutal. The band members, especially lead vocalist Andy LaPlegua, never stop running around stage and the floor-shaking percussion never pauses. LaPlegua says Combichrist is “mayhem,” and that is definitely an apt description.

“I guess Combichrist is a collective of different styles of music,” LaPlegua elaborated. “It’s got bass and electronics but it’s from the metal and hardcore background so it’s kind of like a fusion of percussion and electronics and industrial sounds. There are also dance elements, metal and rock elements with a lot of punk rock attitude and it’s dark as fuck.”

Combichrist opened with a hit off their album “What the Fuck is Wrong With You People” called “Shut Up and Swallow” and quickly launched into a tune off their latest release entitled “Follow the Trail of Blood.”

Fans not only moshed to the music, they danced. What’s interesting about Combichrist is that the versatility of the music allows for that. While LaPlegua might be screaming his lungs out, the drums are always insistent enough and the beats are always catchy enough that if fans don’t find themselves stomping their feet or bobbing their heads like a maniac, they’ve got to be deaf.

“The shows are an interactive experience,” LaPlegua noted. “Our shows are run by energy and we feed a lot off the audience. When the audience is good, it’s a better show. So it’s a give and take thing. We try to keep in touch with the audience as much as possible.”

One of the high points of the performance was seeing “Throat Full of Glass,” the first track off the new album to have a music video created for it.

“Our new video is totally like a sexploitation or grindhouse movie,” LaPlegua said. “I mean it’s really funny because we’re acting all macho and cool and shooting each other and really we we were laughing really hard trying to keep in character. We’re more lighthearted and we don’t take things seriously and trying to make a serious character was pretty funny. I think that added something extra to the video too because it added something almost cheesy to it and made it almost authentic grindhouse. Somebody mentioned earlier that it was like GTA (Grand Theft Auto) but Grand Theft Andy.”

Overall the show was a good mix of older and newer Combichrist. The majority of the songs played came from the band’s last two albums released, although they did play a few older gems like “Blut Royale” and “Today I Awoke to the Rain of Blood.”

When the band reemerged for the encore songs, fans were chanting in unison, “This shit...this shit...this shit will fuck you up,” a reference to Combichrist’s biggest club hit. Sadly (or gladly for some fans who might have heard that particular tune one time too many), LaPlegua claimed that they never play that song anymore. No matter because he quickly turned things around by segueing into “Never Surrender,” Combichrist’s latest club anthem and closed the show with “What the Fuck is Wrong with You?”

For a band with maniacal members that destroy their drum sets just for the hell of it on a regular basis and run marathons around the stage, Combichrist sure can put on a good show.

“You can’t really compare playing in a venue to playing an arena,” LaPlegua said. “It’s like two completely different things. It’s kind of like making love or fucking. Basically you do the same thing but it’s not really the same. Both are great, but it’s kind of a different thing.”

So, now the question becomes did Combichrist f**k Ace of Spades or make love to it? Ultimately the fans who were there will have to be the judge of that.

For the complete interview with Andy Laplegua, click here.

Murderdolls to play Ace of Spades

2011-04-13T04:29:39Z

Lucky for Sacramentans, Ace of Spades has booked the Murderdolls, one
of the most vulgar, most energetic bands that your mother would never
want to catch you listening to. They are set to perform on April 21
with opening bands, Misamore, Avenue Saints, Spider City and
Blownload, a group based out of Sacramento.

Frontmen Wednesday 13, who has his own side project of the same name,
and Joey Jordison, who has drummed for bands like Slipknot and Rob
Zombie, have reunited to make the Murderdolls’ second full length
album, “Women and Children Last,” a strong one. Songs such as “Drug Me
to Hell” and “Hello, Goodbye, Die” hold true to their metal-punk-trash-thrash
sound, complete with horror-movie-inspired lyrics.

To promote their new CD, the Murderdolls have recently shared the
stage with both Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper at 2010’s Halloween
Hootenanny concert. Joey Jordison performed double time, playing drums
for Zombie as well as guitar for Murderdolls.

Although the Murderdolls were just opening for Zombie and Cooper at
the Halloween Hootenanny show, the band did embark on their own
European tour, playing with bands like The Black Veil Brides and
Marionette at select locations. According to the group’s blog, it was
their first European tour in over six years.

It’s hard to say what fans can expect at the upcoming Ace of Spades
show, however, one thing is for sure - there will be plenty of
headbanging, swearing, and...well, swearing. Songs such as “I love to
Say Fuck” and “Let’s Fuck,” with easy to chant mantras should be in no
short supply. Also, now that Ace of Spades is officially able to serve
alcohol, there’s no doubt that the show will be entertaining.

Even with just two albums under their belt, at the rate they’re going,
Wednesday 13 and Jordison will make the Murderdolls the shock rock
band of this generation.

Chris Robinson Brotherhood (is not a cult)

2011-04-08T06:56:33Z

Chris Robinson Brotherhood played a show at Harlow's on Tuesday night in front of an exuberant and packed house.

CRB consists of the eponymous once and future Black Crowes frontman, Neal Casal (Ryan Adams) on guitar, Adam MacDougall (Black Crowes) on keys, George Sluppick (Robert Walter's 20th Congress, JJ Grey and Mofro) on drums and Mark "Muddy" Dutton (Burning Tree) on bass.

This was the eighth show on their spring-long pilgrimage throughout the Golden State, and I went into it not really knowing what to expect (other than a great show). As of this writing, youtube only has two videos of CRB, and one of them is a Black Crowes song.

I arrived at Harlow's ten minutes before 9pm, and to no ones surprise, the place was already jumping. Artists of Chris Robinson's stature don't often play at 300+ person clubs. I mean, The Black Crowes are the 92nd greatest hard rock band of all time. VH1 doesn't hand that out to just anyone.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the venue was a mammoth "California Republic" flag flying above and behind the stage, a tip of the cap to the only state that they'll be visiting on their whirlwind two month tour.

I began my pre-show ritual:

1) Hit up the restroom. Peeing during the show is for suckers. (The top of the toilet paper dispenser was covered in green shake. A precursor of things to come.)

2) Hit up the bar. (My beer of choice depends on the crowd. Fair to middling crowd, PBR. Packed house, Racer 5. On this night it was a Racer 5 with a bullet.)

3) Grab a smoke. Smoking during the show is for suckers. On my pilgrimage outside I met Josh, a jam band enthusiast and self described "square" who teaches in Elk Grove and has two kids. I thought I'd met him at Harlow's before, but he scoffed at the notion "nope, this is my one get out of jail card". With all the great jam bands that have been coming through Sac recently, it couldn't have been easy to decide on just one. I saw him later on the dance floor and it was clear that he'd chosen well.

4) Find my photographer. Taking your own pictures is for suckers. Steven had maneuvered his way to front and center, it looked like he'd be in great position to get some killer shots. Alas, it was not to be. Midway through the first set, Steven was approached by a large dreadlocked fellow I can only presume was a roadie for the band. The man informed Steven, in no uncertain terms, that there would be no professional photography on this night. It would be up to me and my spectacularly amateurish pointing and clicking to win the day. What a sucker.

At 9:19 in the PM, Chris and the boys took the stage. The crowd responded with a roar and more than a few clouds of marijuana smoke.

I was immediately struck by how much they look the part. If you saw CRB walking down the street, or at the movies, or painting your house, you would immediately recognize them as a rock band.

Sluppick was wearing a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles and a sports coat to go with his relatively kempt mane. Macdougall had a classic scraggly rocker look with his long hair, beard and many-zippered brown leather jacket. Casal went with a flannel shirt and red corduroy pants to complement his shaggy hair and grey-tinged beard. Dutton sported the ubiquitous rockstar black snap-down collared shirt with jeans that belled ever so slightly at the bottom. The look befitted his Brian May-esque coif perfectly. Which brings us to Robinson. All the other outfits, though screaming "Musician! Rocker! Keep that guy away from my drugs!" could conceivably have been worn by laypeople. I have trouble imagining anyone but a rockstar wearing Chris Robinson's shirt.

Flowing pink tie-dyed open collared shirts just aren't done by "normies". And if you think for a second that he was wearing shoes, you haven't been paying attention.

They opened with an original song called "Tulsa Yesterday", and it became immediately clear that they sounded the part at least as well as they looked it. As they would throughout the evening, to the delight of Josh the "square", they extended the jam to great lengths. "Tulsa Yesterday" featured an epic psychedelic Moog organ solo that really stood out.

After the first song, Robinson chopped it up a bit with the crowd, "I've hit my head on the microphone twice already!" he said, illustrating the point by accidentally-on-purpose hitting his head on it again. "Just a reminder" he joked "The Brotherhood is not a cult, but it would be nice to get tax exempt status".

Up next was their first cover song of the evening, a rip-roaring honky-tonked out take on Bob Dylan's "Tough Momma". "TM" featured another rollicking pedaled-out Moog solo and extended jam with all of the musicians showing off their prodigious chops. It was the second of what would be five 10-minute songs in a row to start off the show.

They returned to the new original stuff with their third song of the evening, the slower, pleading "Beware". This was the one original CRB song that I'd heard before, and it's lovely. At one point, Robinson was singing nearly unaccompanied with just the sparsest musical backing. It was a beautiful, but momentary, interlude before the whole gang came crashing back in.

They mined the gargantuan well-spring of source material that is the Grateful Dead oevre for their next song of the evening, "They Love Each Other". They really knocked this bluesy rocker out of the park. It may have been partly due to my vantage point (right in front of the keyboards) but once again I found myself particularly struck by Macdougal's keyboard wizardry. Just a wonderful song, played both expertly and with great soul.

Possibly in honor of the song's originators, a joint was thrown on stage by an audience member during the Dead cover. It was put aside, whether to be smoked later or discarded later, well, your guess is as good as mine. I didn't see the band smoke it, but I didn't see the band not smoke it either.

As they began their next song, another original called "Star or Stone", Steven was called out by the dreadlocked brownshirt, and decided to take off. I was on my own.

"Tomorrow Blues" was one of my favorite songs of the evening, a raucous blues number that featured a sick Moog solo seemingly culled from the furthest reaches of outer space. Phenomenal.

They capped off the set with a couple songs that were familiar to the Chris Robinson true believers in the crowd. "Appaloosa", the aforementioned Black Crowes song, is a heartfelt ode and was a crowd favorite. They followed that with "40 Days", a hard driving rocker from Chris Robinson and The New Earth Mud, Robinson's side band the last time the Crowes went on an extended hiatus. It was the most searing track of the first set and sent the crowd into a tizzy heading into the break. A sign of things to come.

The band left the stage at 10:34, having taken a cool hour and fifteen minutes to play 8 songs. They don't scrimp on the jams, these cats.

They returned to the stage at 11:00 PM on the button, and proceeded to blow the doors off for another hour and a half. Nine songs this time, including the encore, a rousing version of Elvis's Blue Suede Shoes.

I am going to spare you the blow by blow break down of the second set, in part because I am 1300 words deep already, and in main because I was too busy cutting the rug a new one during the rousing second set to take anything more than the most elementary of notes ("Awesome!" "Epic!" and "guitarist put his flannel back on!" all appear in my second set scribblings")

The set list is pictured.

You'll get another chance to see them for yourselves when they return to Harlow's on May 3rd.

As good as they were on Tuesday, I expect they'll be even better with another month of shows under their belt.

Ace of Spades realizes the dreams of Empire

2011-03-24T20:58:30Z

The new Ace of Spades Music Venue on R Street has been open for a few weeks, and in typical fashion, rumors have been flying around town that they are in trouble already. Sacramento Press reporter Suzanne Hurt went out last week and got the truth of the matter on the record, and I encourage you to read her story here.

Aside from some limitations on the liquor license, imposed by a cautious ABC, Ace of Spades is most certainly open for business, and apparently doing well with its chosen audience.

But the business angle is only half the story. The other half is: What's it like to go to a show there? How is it different from Empire and Venue, which previously occupied the space?

The main booker, Eric Rushing, formerly of the hard rock venue the Boardwalk in Orangevale, isn't booking my sort of bands. The emphasis, true to a venue named after a Motorhead song, is all the various "-cores": Hardcore, Emocore, Metalcore, Grindcore and other fast-and-loud types. It is working, and according to several employees of the venue, the crowds are frequent, large and enthusiastic. The place is booked nearly solid into July.

But Wednesday night, Swell Productions brought classic rock guitarist and singer/songwriter Richard Thompson, an old Baby Boom favorite, to the venue. This was my opportunity to check out and judge in light of the music I'd like to hear there.

The evening was promising: Thompson had sold out the venue. That was relatively easy: Swell has a devoted following, and Thompson has played Sacramento many times and has had a devoted international audience since he first appeared the same year as Jimi Hendrix, 1967. And since Swell Productions' Boomer-centric audience wants chairs, the usual capacity of just under 900 was reduced to just over 500.

But not only did the show sell out, the venue itself is looking, and more importantly, sounding, good.

The new, improved Venue layout works well. There is a large seated area (usually standing room) in front of the stage, and while there are four bars total, most of the bar action during the show shifted to the back bar, which is away from the music.

That back bar, which now also has a large window facing outside, feels open and cozy at the same time. It has been decorated in the same quasi-antique feel, with embossed red wallpaper and lots of chandeliers, like Shady Lady Saloon down the block. It is also reminiscent of the venerable Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco.

The back bar worked for those who wanted to hang back and talk, but still take in the music. Likewise, the raised area on the south side of the room, above the sound board (see picture) also has a bar, and great sight lines. With only 500 people there, the place felt comfortable. And the always-crucial bathrooms are large and nicely-decorated – a far cry from the nasty bathrooms one often gets in black box venues.

The main improvement of the room's very brief time as Venue was the raised seating areas added behind the floor on the west and south sides of the room. Here, banquettes and chairs offer great views of the room and the stage. There are really very few bad spots in the house from what I could tell.

But how does it SOUND? Empire had notoriously bad sound, a black box built more as a disco than a concert space, and I heard some real horrorshows there. I'm sure there are still issues, despite the large bass traps that have been suspended around the room (note to Harlow's management: bass traps).

Sound is still often a matter of the sound man rather than the room itself, and sound men are a varied lot. But at least they seem to have a better room to work with now.

Wednesday night, the place sounded good. Thompson only had a trio – guitar, bass and drums, all of them stellar – so that made it easier. But we've all heard trios that sounded like hell, and this most definitely didn't.

There was crispness and clarity, and enough bass to keep it driving and engaging. I always hesitate to talk about sound, because it is so often so bad, and because many people often don't seem to care much about it, or hear what I hear. But to my own subjective ears, things sounded pretty good.

Getting even decent sound is a constant battle, but Ace of Spades is apparently willing to wage it. That's what is so encouraging about Ace of Spades: Management seems to me to be really working at it. That is in itself a huge victory for Sacramento music fans.

The bar was nice, too. There's Guinness on tap (Lemmy would approve), and bar food is available until 9 p.m. I didn't try anything, but the chicken wings and mac 'n' cheese were only $5 each, which seems pretty reasonable.

In short, Ace of Spades fills the huge hole in Sacramento's music scene that Empire and Venue aimed to fill, but never adequately addressed. Ace of Spades and its audience benefits greatly from the work done by the previous two operators, though, so the whole thing strikes me as the victory of if-at-first-you-don't-succeed business acumen.

The management still has to work out its differences with the ABC, which wants to keep the place a concert venue rather than a nightclub. I'm fine with that – we need concert venues far more than we need more nightclubs – but I also hope that the ABC and city leaders make it possible for Ace of Spades to succeed as a business.

They are still working out some kinks, and booking a wider variety of bands would build an active supporter base beyond the core of various "-core"s. But one visit to Ace of Spades makes me optimistic that we are going to have more and better small concerts in Sacramento, beyond the main central city venues of Harlow's, Marylin's on K and the Crest.

Sacramento needs venues like this, and Rushing, partner Brett Bair and their crew are working hard on providing it. At long last.

The Concretes at the Blue Lamp with Million Young

2011-03-05T21:05:16Z

Thursday night at the Blue Lamp was the place to be for some really great music. Sweden’s The Concretes made their way to the Blue Lamp and shared the stage with Florida’s Million Young. Both groups will be on tour for a few shows together and both made their way to Sacramento for the first time.

Before the show started I was able to talk to members of Million Young. Mike Diaz, Lee Mazurk, Eric Rizzo and David Stephen make up the group. They were outside the Blue Lamp along with one of their friends who now lives in San Francisco.

I took some of their time before the show began and asked them a few questions. Million Young volunteered Mike Diaz to be their spokesman but after a bit they all took turns talking about the tour.

They indicated they were from Coral Springs, Florida. ”We’ve been touring with the Concretes for a few days now. We’ve played a few dates with them.” Mike said. When I asked if they would be touring with the Concretes for the entire tour Mike indicated they would tour with them just for the West Coast states.

Mike Diaz started the band and was a one-man band for about a year. He said, “About 6 months ago we all just started playing together. We played together with some bands in High School. We’ve known each other for a while.” When asked if they’ve been to Sacramento before, “No we haven’t this is our first time in California.” was the response.

Thursday was a perfect day to be in Sacramento and I passed that on to Million Young. One of them said, “Oh yeah it was miserable the last two days. In Portland and Seattle it rained a lot.” They were happy to enjoy some California sunshine reminding them of Florida weather.

I asked about their discography and Mike said, “We have 2 EPs and we’ve just put out a full length album in February. It’s called Replicants.” Million Young members were very personable and seem to get along.

Sometimes, when trying to get a short interview, you have to pin down a band member to get them to answer a couple of questions. These guys were more than willing to answer questions and give their opinions. It was a pleasure getting them to chat.

As they took the stage, those that came to watch a great show were not disappointed. The crowd had steadily grown and started moving towards the stage.

I was a little thrown off track when I heard Mike Diaz start off their set. An electronically altered voice began the set. I was not expecting that and became quickly captivated by their sound. From the start of their show, Million Young, engrossed the audience and brought the crowd closer to the stage.

Their sound was a little hard to pinpoint but I think that’s where their musical strength lies. Electronic, Indie, soothing melodies both musical and vocal also define their sound. Audience members moved along with the music as Million Young played their set.

After two EP’s (Sunndreamm and Be So True) they released a full length album. Replicants has been out since the middle of February. Several of those compositions were played live at the Blue Lamp. The lineup has changed in the past but Mike Diaz has been at the center of Million Young. Lee Mazurk, Eric Rizzo and David Stephen currently make up the rest of the band.

Million Young delighted the audience and made new fans and friends on Thursday night. Either after the end of the evening’s show or the following morning Million Young was going to drive down to Los Angeles. The Troubadour was their next destination. Log on to their website to hear some of their compositions and follow their progress you won’t be disappointed.

The Concretes were the headline act and they took the stage a few minutes after Million Young cleared off their equipment. The stage appeared crowded with 6 Concretes members on stage with their instruments and Lisa Milberg taking the microphone. Lisa came to the stage covered by what looked like a Native American throw-blanket. She warmed up after a few minutes and lost the blanket.

The Concretes have been around since 1995 with several members leaving or being replaced. The crew that made it to Sacramento was missing two members who recently had babies. Their usual 8 members were reduced to 6 for the Blue Lamp show.

The Concretes played several songs from their latest release “WYWH” (Wish You Were Here). Catchy songs such “Good Evening, Crack in the Paint, My Ways, All Day” and others were played by the Stockholm based band. Good Evening started off their set and the audience moved to the slow disco tune. Their tunes seemed to make the audience move as soon as it started and those that knew the lyrics sang along.

The Concretes were formed in 1995 and their first American release came in 2004. The Concrete’s self-titled album released a couple of singles that brought the Concretes to an international audience (Say Something New and You Can't Hurry Love). Since then three other albums were released before last year’s WYWH.

There will undoubtedly be comparisons made between the current Concretes line-up and that of the Concretes with lead singer Victoria Bergsman. The band’s sound still has a Pop sound to it but, in my opinion, it has evolved for the better. Their current tour should bring more fans into their camp.

Their current tour began in Oslo Norway on February 19 and has already grown to incorporate more shows. After their tour takes them through various dates in California they will go to Mexico City by next weekend.

The songs performed were delightfully played. Lisa’s enchanting voice was well complemented by the band that seemed to be crammed on stage. The audience moved with the beat in unison and many moved within a couple of feet of the stage.

“We are the Concretes; this is our first time in Sacramento.” Lisa said after their second song. As the fans cheered on she continued “and we like you a lot”. As she spoke in her Swedish accent the audience reacted with cheers, support and applause.

As the Concretes moved from one song to another it became apparent that the show was quickly coming to an unwanted end. As they finished their last song the Concretes left their audience wanting more. The Concretes ended up singing many songs from their WYWH album. Fans of the band enjoyed a great performance and many stayed around to talk to the band members.

I had asked Lisa before their performance began if I could ask her or someone from the band a couple of questions. After the show I was able to talk to her as she enjoyed a smoke outside the Blue Lamp.

I had noticed during the performance that she was being backed up by 5 musicians I knew there were 8 members all together and I asked her about that. “We have been the Concretes forever but then we’ve had some members come and go and we are actually 8 in the band. When we tour we are very rarely 8, we’re usually 6 sometimes less sometimes more.” said Lisa in her charming Swedish accent.

Lisa gave me the first names of the members who were on stage. “Dante played drums, Jon plays guitar and he’s not usually with us but he’s playing guitar because our regular guitarist is not with us he’s having a baby. There’s Per, he plays organ and we have Ludvig and he plays keys. Fritjof plays bass and he’s not usually in the band either but our bass player also had a baby.” As she laughed she said, “There’s a lot of babies.” She finished saying, “then there’s me, Lisa and I sing and that’s it.”

I asked about their current tour and at that time some fans brought CDs they had just purchased for her autograph. Lisa interacted with everyone, was very friendly and seemed to be genuinely happy to talk to anyone that approached her.

“We started our tour in San Francisco,” Lisa replied when I asked where they started their West Coast tour and that leg of their tour started on February 25. “We then went to Portland, Seattle and Vancouver and then we drove all the way from Vancouver to here.” Lisa went on to say.

I asked if they were driving to the Troubadour (their next show) in L.A. “We’re going to drive a little bit tonight and then we’ll finish the drive tomorrow. We’re trying to beat traffic.” After a few more stops in Southern California they’ll end their current tour and I asked Lisa about that. “We’re going to end up in Mexico City. We’re just doing the one show there but I’m sticking around for a few days to get some sun. I’m thinking about maybe also buying some embroideries and piñatas and tequila. I love Mexico and love very much Mexican food.” I asked her if they had eaten in Sacramento and they had. “We had dinner here in Sacramento. We had Tex Wasabi which was barbecue and sushi in the same place. That was fun but weird and rather nice.” I had to tell her that earlier in the day I had some Korean tacos and that she could probably find them in L.A. “

The Concretes were a delight to listen to and the Sacramento audience made a good impression. Lisa Milberg ended by saying “I thought the crowd was very nice.” With that I thanked her for visiting Sacramento and wished them success as they continue their tour.

Here We Stay...and other ways to be heard

2011-02-23T18:26:02Z

The city is buzzing with the news that the Kings appear to be heading out of town and down the coast. However, it hasn't happened YET and it isn't too late to let your voice be heard. There is a movement called "Here We Stay" that is asking Kings fans to sell out the February 28th game against the LA Clippers. That game falls the night before the March 1st deadline the NBA has set for owners to file for relocation to another city. Last I checked there were only 1,000 tickets left for the game.

A sell-out would be fantastic and certainly make a statement, but it is not enough. That is less than 18,000 people from the entire city showing their support. What about people who are not Kings fans, but support the building of a new entertainment venue? What about those who support the cause but can't afford a ticket to the game?

There is an opportunity here for anyone who wants to take action in their own way, on their own budget. Local PR firm Glass Agency put up billboards on I-5 proclaiming "Game Over: If the Kings leave, we all lose." Not everyone has that kind of cash or means, but you can let your voice be heard.

One option is to contact your city officials. This blog provides a sample e-mail and the addresses for your local city officials. Remember, this isn't only about keeping the Kings in Sacramento. In fact, the Kings are only a small part of the larger picture. Do you want a new entertainment arena in Sacramento? Tell them. Do you have a suggestions on where to put it or how to pay for it? Tell them. Don't stop with your city officials. Write the papers, the news stations and every other public entity you can think of. Get to the decision makers.

As a city, we do have options to get this arena built. A few cents extra on our taxes (seriously, a few cents) and we can not only own the arena as a city, but reap the benefits of it for the next 25 years. Alternatively, if we are lucky, some private investor will show up, plunk down the dough and we’ll be good to go. Either way, we have to quit thinking small town and remember that we are worth a new arena. Sacramento is a beautiful city full of amazing people who are capable of getting things done. So let’s do it.

A Kings move is a Sacramento loss

2011-02-22T22:20:01Z

For anyone who thinks that losing the Sacramento Kings is only that, the loss of a professional sports franchise, think again. If Joe and Gavin Maloof, Kings owners, choose to file for a move by the looming March 1st deadline and are granted relocation, this city will lose a lot more than 41 regular season home games a year. This is about more than basketball.

Arco Arena, soon to be Power Balance Pavilion, is an old, crumbling eyesore that is already being passed up by some of the big names in sports, music and entertainment for newer venues. Without the Sacramento Kings and the Maloofs, Sacramento is unlikely to build a new entertainment center and will continue to lose out to our shiny arena neighbors in San Jose, Stockton and even, gulp, Oakland.

A possible Kings relocation has been on the horizon for quite some time. We never thought this would happen. Some didn't (and still don't) care. Now it looks like it might finally happen as NBA Commissioner David Stern confirmed that the Maloofs have been in talks with the managers of the Honda Center in Anaheim, Ca about moving the team there.

You don't like the Kings you say? Ok. Do you like Lady Gaga, Disney on Ice, Monster Trucks, WWE, Taylor Swift, Usher, Dancing with the Stars, or Dane Cook? Did you like the 2 million dollars our city generated in NCAA play-off revenue? Oh wait, we lost that already due to our aged arena....An entertainment venue means jobs, it means visitors, it means revenue for this city that we are letting walk down the coast if we let the Kings leave.

Although Mayor Kevin Johnson is committed to trying to keep the team here, he can only do so much. Without support from the residents of Sacramento and beyond, the Kings should move. I just hope we understand what that means...You can give or take the Kings, basketball or the other entertainment outlets, but do you want to see Sacramento thrive or not?

Rob Zombie to play at Ace of Spades

2011-02-04T18:33:12Z

Ace of Spades is a new venue, located at 1417 R St., set to host its first concert on Saturday.

The venue has managed to secure quite a variety of artists to perform its opening month, including Badfish, a Sublime tribute band, and Papa Roach.

However, the most surprising group to be featured on the February lineup has got to be Rob Zombie, a band which, in its most recent years, has consisted of a bunch of horror-movie buffs who know how to rock out.

Rob Zombieʼs stage shows usually feature pyrotechnics that can singe fansʼ eyebrows off even if theyʼre at the back of the auditorium, giant walking robot animatronics, and monster (oftentimes literally) kabuki-screen graphics. Unsure what that entails? Just Google footage of Zombieʼs Halloween Hootenanny tour with Alice Cooper and it will all become much clearer.

So when Ace of Spades secured Rob Zombie to perform on February 10 at their 1,000-person-maximum venue, it was somewhat surprising. Where would all the fireworks go?

Guitarist John 5 explained that the handful of scheduled dates in the United States are meant as a return to the basics of rock ’n’ roll, reminiscent of gig rehearsals and practice.

“Weʼre doing really big shows overseas (and) the best way to warm up is to do a show,” John 5 said. “So instead of just going into a rehearsal room and trying to jump around and things like that, itʼs a lot easier if you do it that way. Itʼs just like a fighter going into the ring instead of just sparring with somebody. Itʼs a lot better to just go into the ring and warm up that way, I think.”

So there will be no glittery fireworks and there will be no flashy stage show, but that certainly does not mean that the concert wonʼt be entertaining.

Usually when massively popular bands that normally visit packed arenas decide to play somewhat “secret” and less publicized shows, itʼs because they love getting the opportunity to really connect with fans. It would seem that in Rob Zombieʼs case, things are no different.

“Weʼve been doing so many big shows, so many really, really big shows,” John 5 elaborated. “Iʼm looking forward to just playing on a small stage, interacting with the people and having a good time because we havenʼt done that in so long.”

Another advantage to seeing Rob Zombie at such a small venue is that the performance should be less scripted and choreographed. Since the shows are meant to resemble rehearsals, it only seems reasonable to expect some playfulness on the part of the musicians. Lucky for fans of John 5, that might mean the opportunity to see him demonstrate some of the more difficult techniques he is known for having mastered. For example, John 5ʼs solo instrumental albums are filled with everything from bluegrass songs to tunes completely played behind the nut of the guitar a la “Behind the Nut Love” from one of his earlier albums, “Songs for Sanity.”

“I always try to challenge myself, just to keep it fresh and fun for myself. I keep on pushing it and pushing it and pushing it,” John 5 said regarding some of the difficult techniques he uses. “It really is my love to do that, to keep my mind working and fresh and trying to accomplish greatness, which I donʼt know if I ever will, but Iʼm trying.”

John 5 joined Rob Zombie back in 2005 for the Ozzfest tour and continued to work with Zombie on 2006ʼs “Educated Horses.”

John 5 worked on Rob Zombieʼs latest release, 2010ʼs “Hellbilly Deluxe II,” a record that at times departs from its metal roots and strays into 1960s-era Beach Boys surf rock to create a heavy rockabilly sound accompanied by Zombieʼs signature horror flick-inspired lyrics.

Although local fans of Rob Zombie are no doubt thrilled the group is coming to town, it would seem that the band members are just as happy to be touring near home before embarking on a tour of the U.K. and Australia.

“Honestly, I really, really enjoy Sacramento a lot,” said John 5, who lives in Los Angeles. “I think itʼs beautiful and I love California so much. I really enjoy going to Sacramento and San Francisco and all over like that. But Sacramento is very peaceful, itʼs very nice. Iʼm not just saying that. If I didnʼt think that, Iʼd be like, ʻOh yeah, itʼs great,ʼ but you know, I really do enjoy it.”

Rock n' roll high school-ers

2011-01-30T19:51:47Z

“Tony Silva rides the bus to see the punk rock bands
   He rides out from BFN and no one understands
  He doesn’t have a car and he’s not old enough to drive
   But seeing punk rock concerts is what keeps Tony alive.”
--“Tony Silva Rides the Bus”, by The Secretions

Despite a bad economy and multiple venue closures this year, punk rock is alive and well among the under-18 crowd.

“There will be times when things get closed down, and it’ll affect the scene negatively, but in the long run, there’s a resilience in Sacramento,” said Craig Usher, who has been going to punk shows since his freshman year of high school.

Usher, now 42 with children, runs a Facebook page cataloguing shows. He said he still prefers all-ages shows to those held in bars, and smaller, sparser shows to massive ones.

“I was drawn to punk rock, in part, because it wasn’t like mass culture rock n’ roll,” he said. “So if I go to a show where I feel like … the focus is on selling stuff rather than expressing yourself, it just doesn’t feel as rewarding to me.”

The tendency of all-ages punk shows to be smaller and more underground also has practical applications.

Alcohol is an essentially a guaranteed moneymaker for 21-and-up shows, but all-ages venues can only sell food and soft drinks. That tends to raise ticket prices, which makes it harder for teen audiences to afford. The smaller the turnout, the less both venue and band earn.

Amber Rose, a booking agent for Citrus Heights bar the Fire Escape, explained that the key to survival is keeping prices low, and planning all-ages shows on nights when school-attending teens can realistically attend.

The Fire Escape also allows patrons to participate in organized moshing, or “circle pits,” which most all-ages venues have forbidden.

“You have to take care of the people that take care of you,” Rose said.

Though the Fire Escape has a full bar, Rose said the underage shows have been profitable. Openings for all-ages shows have been fully booked through April.

“It’s pretty difficult for kids to (play) all-ages (gigs),” Rose said, adding that there are only a handful of dedicated teenage clubs left.

Mickie ‘Rat’ (a psuedonym), bassist for the Sacramento punk band The Secretions, agreed.

“As a legal, profitable business, all-ages venues will always be struggling in Sacramento until they either lower the legal drinking age or the cost of permits for live music venues,” he said in an e-mail interview.

Rat was much more optimistic about private, underground shows, held in improvised venues like garages and basements and funded partially through donations. Although these shows are held in secret, they aren’t hard to find, he said.

“The people who take an active part in the music scene and go to shows always manage to find out where they are,” Rat said. “Bands will always find places to play, whether it’s in a club or someone’s living room.”

The Secretions are a testament to the punk scene’s vitality, as the band recently celebrated its 20th anniversary together. They still practice and hold the occasional private show at Casa de Chaos, a house in Midtown.

“That old house has seen me through a lot of good times and bad times,” Rat said. “It’s a rundown old shack, but I love it.”

The scene is kept alive by people frequently attending shows of all types and paying to get in, he explained.

“Every person who comes to see a show is just as important as the people on stage,” Rat said. “Without an audience, a show is just a lonely rehearsal in a big empty room.”

But the venue, it seems, is secondary to fans, who go primarily for the music and the friendships they make.

“I go to have fun,” said Gavin Mercer, 16-year-old drummer for the fledgling punk band The Carbonites. “It takes out a lot of aggression, too. You can sweat some of your anger out, or your stress or whatever.”

Rose, the Citrus Heights booking agent, would rather have her teenage daughter attend an all-ages punk show, with lots of people around, than a house party.

“These kids go to all these shows, and they all end up becoming friends. It’s kind of like an underground family,” she said.

Nicole Holbein, 17, said she is sentimental about the “family” the punk scene has introduced her to.

“Everyone has the utmost respect and love for what they're doing, and it's such a positive place to be,” she said. “Everyone looks out for each other.”

What are you waiting for? Go, See, Do!

2011-01-28T22:46:33Z

It is an understatement to say that there is an overwhelming amount of concerts, art showings, theatre performances and other exciting events taking place in Sacramento every day.

In fact, it’s pretty mind-boggling that anyone can keep track of all of them when planning how and where to spend that rare commodity known as “free time.” That’s where we come in to make your life a little easier.

We are very proud to introduce to our users “Go.See.Do.”, your personal guide to upcoming local events.

Every week, we handpick a few events that we believe are worthy of your valuable time and deliver them straight to your inbox.

Film festivals, fashion shows, poetry readings, food and cocktail weeks, you name it! You will find all of this (and much more) in “Go.See.Do.”

The newsletter is sent out every Thursday morning and features events taking place through the following week. Each event title and photo is clickable and will take you to websites, articles and social media sites where you can check out complete information.

Sneak a peak at last week’s “Go.See.Do” here.

To sign up to receive “Go.See.Do.”, all you have to do is register as a user on our site. Click “sign up” at the top of the home page, fill out some basic information and you’re done! If you have any questions about the sign-up process, feel free to e-mail us at support@sacramentopress.com.

Also, if you have an event that you would like considered for inclusion, please submit the following to goseedo@sacramentopress.com:

- Name of the event
- Date of the event
- Where the event is held (name and address)
- A photo to accompany the listing (that you have permission to use)
- Event website
- When available, links to a Facebook or Twitter account, either for the event or for the venue
- Any additional information you feel is important

When choosing events, we will showcase both big acts that readers might be surprised to see coming through Sacramento and small, but great, events that haven’t received a lot of exposure.

In addition to the e-mail you’re sending from, please be sure to include any additional contact information. Every event will be considered equally.

What are you waiting for? Go.See.Do.

New Year's Eve Party & Fundraiser, a black tie affair featuring performances by The Sizzling Sirens & DJ Rico (presented by Chako Pit Bull Rescue)

2010-12-30T00:07:25Z

An elegant and exciting evening featuring a burlesque performance by The Sizzling Sirens, appetizers and drinks, music, dancing, a silent auction and a champagne toast at midnight!

PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE: http://www.chako.org/newyearsevesacramento.html

Tickets: $80/advance, $100/ door - Includes drinks and alcohol, appetizers, entertainment, plus a chance to win exclusive goodies! Chako is a 501(c)(3), which means your donation is tax deductible!

Chako’s New Year’s Eve party starts at 9:30 p.m. and ends at 2:00 a.m., the event will be held at Bodytribe: 920 21st Street, Sacramento 95816. Questions? Contact us at (916) 534-8608. You must be 21 or over to attend and have a photo ID.

A 501(c)(3) Sacramento Pit Bull Rescue & Advocacy group that provides classes & workshops to owners, helps train Pit Bulls as service dogs, and offers other free and low cost services to the public. for more info visit, www.chako.org

Check us out on Facebook to see our current pit bulls for adoption! http://www.facebook.com/chakopitbull

Disclosure: Joleen Vincent is a volunteer Public Relations coordinator for Chako.

Sacramento Master Singers: Holiday Delight

2010-12-13T23:00:15Z

The block-long line of music lovers began to form a full hour before the doors of St. Francis of Assisi Church opened, a testament to the popularity of the Sacramento Master Singers’ annual holiday concerts.

The expectant crowd settled into the pews and filled the magnificent sanctuary, ladies in sparkly holiday dresses seated next to young people in jeans and hoodies, all brought together to experience the magic and wonder of beautifully sung seasonal music.

“Peace, Peace: 25 Years of Holiday Music” marks a quarter century of the inspired direction of conductor Ralph Hughes.

Through his tenancy as artistic director, the choir has blossomed in numbers, artistic excellence and popularity. The choral works Hughes selected for this anniversary concert include many of his favorites as well as music particularly dear to the choir and to their faithful audience and supporters.

The program began with the choir’s traditional candlelight processional. The 45 singers surrounded the audience for the haunting Gregorian chant "Puer Natus Est" and an a cappella offering of several antiphonal and Renaissance motets.

The sound was crystalline in purity, each note precisely sung into the beautiful cathedral-like church.

The members of the choir moved into various graceful circles, multilevel stances and complex arrangements featuring soloists (“Christmas Day Is Come”) and an octet (for Jan Sandstrom’s lovely arrangement of “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”) before assuming their more traditional banked configuration.

The extraordinary talents of the Master Singers and their director, with accompanist Clifford Shockney, were ably showcased through the eclectic and internationally flavored program.

A great favorite of audiences, the 16th-century Spanish villancinco “Riu’ Riu’ Chiu’” incorporates complicated two-part hand percussion. “Fum, Fum, Fum!” – also from Spain – and the enchanting Peruvian “Festejo De Navidad” brought a sense of global connection to the program.

After intermission, the program opened with an a cappella spiritual, “O Wondrous Star of Bethlehem,” featuring soprano Jenny Guemmer.

Gary Garcia’s “There is No Rose” was followed by two pieces featuring only the women, directed by Tina Harris: a challenging “Ave Maria” by David MacIntyre and a bright and surprising “Variations on Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” arranged by accompanist Clifford Shockney, which drew an enthusiastic ovation. Mezzo soprano Carol McCormick was featured on “Still, Still Night,” a wonderful new arrangement of the beloved carol.

The men then took center stage for a clever and intricate version of “Three Kings” followed by a glorious rendition of Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria” featuring a talented trio of Stephen Hill, Andrew Smith and Thomas Voigt and the solo contributions of Chris Goff, David Temme and Kurtis Kroon. The quality of tone and expression in the rich male voices lent a tender poignancy to the simple text.

In counterpoint, “The 12 Days of Christmas???” was a hilarious romp through everyone’s favorite Christmas song – no matter which one that might be.

Exuberant percussion illuminated the Nigerian carol “Betelehemu” and wrapped up the program on a note of energy and joy.

The final song of every Master Singers holiday concert is always “Peace, Peace,” a simple and beautiful wish for peace on Earth. Choir members dispersed around the audience and signed the song as they sang it; the audience was then encouraged to blend voices with the choir to sing “Silent Night.” It was the perfect ending to a lovely, heartfelt concert.

Sacramento Master Singers will sing their holiday concert three more times at St. Francis: on Saturday, Dec. 18 (8 p.m.), Sunday, Dec. 19 (3 p.m.) and Wednesday, Dec. 22 (7 p.m.). The choir will also present a children’s concert, “Jingle All The Way” at St. Francis on Saturday, Dec. 18 (3 p.m.). Tickets are available at their website, mastersingers.org or at 916-788-7464.

Sacramento Master Singers have produced five CDs of their holiday music, as well as “Follow the Sun,” a 1995 recording of world music. The CDs are also available at their website, as are details of the Spring concerts.

Review Writing workshop will be on Ustream, guest list is full

2010-10-13T21:38:31Z

Tonight's Review Writing workshop will be live streamed, and we encourage you to tune in from 6:45 - 8 p.m.

Sacramento Press Editor in Chief David Watts Barton will teach the basics of reviewing concerts, theater and other performances.

We are not accepting anymore RSVPs at this point. We are at full capacity for attendees.

If you have RSVP'd but it's more convenient for you to watch the live stream, we encourage you to do so.

The Ustream video will be pasted in this article later today. It will go live when the workshop starts.

Free live streaming by Ustream

Blues on the Green 2 - Interview With Angela Strehli

2010-09-25T20:19:29Z

Capital Public Radio and Swell-Productions presents Blues on the Green 2 on September 26, 2010. Featured performers will be The Blues Broads and The Nick Gravenites Band with emcee Mick Martin. Tickets for the much anticipated event can be purchased at The Beat and Dimple Records locations and if the event is not sold out you can also purchase tickets at the gates.

One of the Blues Broads, Angela Strehli, sometimes known as the “First Lady of Texas Blues” took time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions. After a couple of rehearsals, on the morning of the interview, she indicated her voice might be going out. As luck would have it her voice held up and she answered all questions.

The Sacramento Press: How was the name chosen and who came up with the name Blues Broads?

Angela Strehli: I did. Broad can be interpreted in different ways. It does not mean girl. It’s more like a female with a little attitude. It’s a female who’s had life experience. It just fits into our music which is mostly blues with some gospel.

SP: When did you interest in music begin?

AS: I’ve been interested in music all my life. I’m a big fan of all kinds of music.

SP: Have you been touring or recording lately?

AS: Haven’t done much touring lately. It takes up quite a bit of time to come up with original songs and to put a record together. I’d like to end up with a record that I can be proud of and maybe tour to share that with our fans. There are a few places we’ve played. Playing overseas in Europe and Japan is a bit different. They know and appreciate the blues so it’s exciting to tour over there.

SP: Being from Texas do you think this early influence is still a big part of your musical background?

AS: Yes the Texas roots have had quite an influence on my music. I grew up listening to every type of music from western, blues, swing and everything in between. There was a wonderful mix of musical tastes in Texas. I was exposed to wonderful music from Mexico and nearby Louisiana; Texas was a hotbed for music and I learned a lot from all the different types of music. This was wonderful and at the same time it made it a challenge to meet the standards set by some of these musicians.

SP: Do you have any current projects in the works?

AS: Blue Highway was the last one. I'm just enjoying time with the Blues Broads. I’ve been putting some tunes down but don’t’ feel they’re yet worthy of a record. I’d like to put something together that I can be proud of and comes across like I've put the time and effort into it.

SP: Do you play any instruments?

AS: I play the bass and a little harmonica. I used to really enjoy playing bass when I first started and was later “tricked” into being a singer. As it worked out I’ve been doing vocals ever since.

SP: Is this your only gig in Sacramento? Have you played here before?

AS: I’ve played a few times here but not recently.

SP: You've collaborated with many artists, are you currently in any projects with any of them?

AS: I’ve done guest vocals on several projects with Marcia Ball and Lou Ann Barton. I've enjoyed working with Maria Muldaur and Paul Horn. These types of collaborations are lots of fun.

SP: Are there any artists you wanted to work with but haven't had a chance?

AS: No but I’m really excited about the Blues Broads. We all have our individual styles and influences. We’ve combined all these styles together and enjoy putting them all together. On shows, we all take turns singing while the others complement with backup vocals. We’ve been able to put on shows at Rancho Nicasio and the Roadhouse.

SP: I also read that you studied Argentinean folk music and spent time in South America.

AS: I was lucky that my dad was into old folk music. We spent some time in Mexico where he had a musician friend. We would visit and we learned some songs in Spanish. The Mexican music influence developed with these experiences. My mom is from Puerto Rico and my grandparents have some roots in Spain. They had 6 or 7 children and for a time they were all in Panama working at the Panama Canal. The kids went to school there in the middle of the jungle. My mom loved it, it was a great experience.

SP: Do you still have family in Texas or have they made the move to California?

AS: I have a daughter there and so I go there to visit her and the grandchildren. I was just there also to celebrate Antone’s 35th anniversary. I was very pleased with the event and got a chance to reminisce.

SP: How would you compare your early career to where you are now?

AS: Well, when I first started people thought we were crazy for not doing (playing) what white middle class kids did. People asked “what do you think you’re doing? Why aren’t you doing rock and roll?" We just loved the blues and wanted to learn all about it. This became a passion and if it wasn’t for the encouragement of the masters, such as Muddy Waters, it may have been different. Their support made a difference at a time when blues seemed to have lost its drawing power. At the time it seemed that the younger generation of blacks was not interested in blues. Blues did not seem to be drawing young talent. You know kids don’t want to listen to the same music their parents do. So this is where we all come in and music unites us. In blues we draw from within. We extract those intense feelings and humor that draws us to the blues. But you know it all worked out the music generation keeps evolving and going back to its roots.

SP: I think this is all I have; I want to thank you for your patience and granting this interview. Before I let you go is there anything else you’d like to add?

AS: If you really enjoy music don’t give up in your quest. Persevere if you love it. Keep going on your own level don’t try to be something you’re not. Just have the patience to continue. It takes a long time to become a professional. Sometimes you may not be enjoying or you're having a hard time so you draw from these experiences. Doing this type of art sometimes you don’t have enough to live on but you have to keep at it. It’s gotta be real if you’re going to sing (the blues). When things are hard you have to make that extra effort, the love of music will prevail.

Angela Strehli has been a key figure in the blues music scene and has worked with many artists such as Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Maria Muldaur amongst others. Angela was instrumental in keeping the Austin Texas blues alive and helped propel the scene into the international musical market. During the interview she indicated that she’s noticed Sacramento has a rich blues venue and is looking forward to the concert on Sunday.

Kittie & DevilDriver play the Boardwalk

2010-09-17T18:24:08Z

Wednesday night was metal night at the Boardwalk with a lineup including five aggressive, head-banging bands – Hostility, Misery, Kataklysm, Kittie and DevilDriver.

Hostility, which played first, was promoting its new album, “Set in Stone.”

The band’s MySpace page claims “Hostility is all about brutal, honest, in-your-face metal,” and the band’s live performance certainly lived up to that claim. There was enough deep-throated screaming, head-banging and super-heavy guitar riffs to please any metal fan.

While Hostility brought a lot of energy to the stage, since the group did play first, the venue was still fairly empty. The musicians encouraged the crowd to get up and move around, but the response was somewhat lackluster.

However, this should not be taken as an indication that Hostility was a boring band. If more people had arrived in time, Hostility would have received just as much enthusiasm from fans as the later performers did.

The next band was Misery, “a hard-hitting metal band from Long Island, New York,” according to its MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/miseryny).

It was interesting to hear the lead singer speak between songs, because he had a Long Island accent that was as different from his singing growl as a bark is from a meow.

Also intriguing about Misery’s performance were the women in the circle pit. Granted, it wasn’t a very large or particularly menacing pit, but it’s still always surprising to see girls get in the roughness.

The most noteworthy song Misery played was “Social Anxiety,” which can be heard on the band’s MySpace page.

Misery also has a new album in the works, which the group claimed will be released in January.

Kataklysm, a Canadian death metal group, was third to play, and the crowd went nuts, forming a sizable pit in the center of the room.

The band played songs such as “Push the Venom” and “Numb and Intoxicated” off its new album, “Heaven’s Venom,” which was released in August.

The highlight of the show was when Morgan Lander, lead singer of Kittie, came out and sang backing vocals for one song. The entire band (except the drummer) was doing the signature metal headbang where all the performers bend over and swing their hair around in a circular motion to the beat of the music. It’s a classic metal stage move that never gets old.

Kittie, an all-female metal quartet from Canada, did its own stage setup so fans could watch as each band member picked up her instrument and sound-checked it.

While it did take away some of the anticipation that builds while waiting for the first glimpse of the band, it was nonetheless interesting to see the women’s dedication to their craft – each member knew exactly how loud each instrument should be and what needed to adjusted to give the right sound.

Kittie is probably known by most for its breakout album “Spit,” which was released in 1999 when each band member was in her teens. However, the girls have released four albums since, with their latest release, “In the Black,” coming out last September.

The band’s two founding sisters, Morgan and Mercedes Lander, also have a clothing line out called Poisoned Black. Morgan said it was another avenue for the sisters to release their creative energy, especially when they weren’t recording albums.

Surprisingly, Kittie’s set seemed relatively short, or perhaps the women just seemed to play fewer songs that were longer in length. They played a lot of songs off “In the Black” and nothing off their debut release, although they did perform “Oracle,” the first track off their second album.

“It’s been quite a few years since we’ve been here, actually,” Morgan Lander said. “Every time that we’ve been here, it’s been an amazing show. The kids here are usually pretty crazy, and it’s our first time opening up for another band here as well. It’ll be fun to play for a different audience, and DevilDriver puts on a great show too, so it’s going to be fun.”

And Morgan was right. The pits got bigger, and the crowd got crazier for each succeeding band, with the biggest and baddest pit forming when headlining band DevilDriver took the stage.

DevilDriver singer Dez Fafara, who was the singer of another gothy/metal/spooky band called Coal Chamber in the late ’90s/early 2000s, really knows how to get crowds pumped up.

DevilDriver even tried to get the Guinness World Record for the largest circle pit back in 2007. Obviously the Boardwalk doesn’t have the capacity for another such feat, but the pit was certainly aggressive, even if most of the participants are willing to help each other up if they fall down.

DevilDriver is on the last leg of its American tour to promote its latest album, “Pray for Villains.” Next, the band will head to Europe.

Each metal band that played Wednesday night had something unique about its sound and its performance. But one thing they all had in common was the brutality inherent in their music – that special something that just makes a crowd hungry for headbanging and moshing.

DevilDriver and Kittie photos courtesy of Sara Paredes-Baumgartner

Sacramento Concerts, Music Events, and The Local Music Scene This Week

2010-09-10T17:19:01Z

Here are some of the concerts and music events happening this weekend and next week in the Sacramento area. For more detailed information on these events and many more go to www.eMusiConnect.com

Concerts, Music Events, and The Sacramento Music Scene This Week:

Saturday, September 11th: Rick Springfield with Peter Noone and Davy Jones at Thunder Valley Resort at 8:00PM. Tickets are $19.00 - $59.00.

Second Saturday features art on display, live music events, street vendors, events at galleries, restaurants, and nightclubs in the Sacramento area. Maps and more event information can be found in Sacramento Bee Friday Ticket or Sacramento News & Review.

Monday, September 13th: CHK CHK CHK at Harlows. Show at 9:00PM. Tickets are $15.00 ADV.

Tuesday, September 14th: Primus with Mariachi El Bronx at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Show at 8:00PM. Tickets are $38.00 GA.

Wednesday, September 15th: Weldon Kekauoha at Harlows. Show at 6:30PM. Tickets are $15.00.

The Local Music Scene:

Friday, September 10th:

Jerry Perry presents Lite Brite - The Babs Johnson Gang at Old Ironsides 9:30PM/$7

Fortress of Attitude - Ol Cotton Dreary - Relic 45 at Marilyns 9PM/$7

Ian Ethan (early show 7PM/$12) The Workshop Reunion with 60 Seconds to Wreck & Harley White at Harlows 10PM/$10

Mick Martin & The Blues Rockers at Torch Club 9PM/$8

Attwater - Chris Twomey at Fox & Goose 9PM/$5

F*ck Fridays with Shaun Slaughter – Jon Droll – Roger Carpio at Townhouse 9PM/$3-$5

CrookOne TGIF at Golden Bear 10PM/No Cover

Hip Hop & Forum on Community Justice at Sol Collective (2574 21st Street) 6PM/$5-$20

The Cuf at The Distillery 9PM/$6

The Show with DJ Billy Lane at Park Ultra Lounge 10PM

Get Down To The Champion Sound with DJ Esef at Capitol Garage 10PM/$5

Lost Angeles - Arlyn Anderson Trio - The Charles Ross Experience at Naked Lounge Downtown 8:30PM/$5

DJ Intensify at Dream Ultra Lounge 9PM

Reggae at The Red until 9PM at JB's Lounge-Red Lion

Nothin Personal at Swabbies On The River 6PM/$5

Love & Rockets Tribute & INXS Tribute at Blue Lamp 9PM

Salsa Fridays at Club 21 9PM/$5

Wonderbread 5 at Crawdad's on the River 9PM

Saturday, September 11th:

Fascination 80's Dance Club at Old Ironsides 9:00PM

Chuck's Annual Pirate & Wench Party at Marilyn's 8:30PM/$25

Kill The Radio Logic - Kooch - Dum Spiro Spero at Fox & Goose 9PM/$3

Kevin Seconds - Erik Hanson at Naked Lounge Downtown 8:30PM/$5

Bamboo Station at Blue Lamp 9PM

Doolin Run New Country Band at Harlows 10PM/$8

Shane Dwight at The Torch Club 9PM/$10

DJ Whores at The Golden Bear 10PM/No Cover

Mix Saturdays with DJ Michael Moss at Mix Downtown 9PM

DJ Scene at Park Ultra Lounge 9PM

No Bozoz at Swabbies on the River 6PM/$5

Jazz After Dark at JB's Lounge-Red Lion 7PM/$12

Sunday, September 12th:

DJ Wokstar's 10PM/$5 at Blue Lamp

Brunch Beats with DJ Katz at Aura 11AM

Tess Honn CD Release at Torch Club 8PM

Alex Jenkins Trio at Shady Lady Saloon 9PM

Salsa Sunday at MoMo Lounge 7PM (Moving to WED 9/15)

The Remedies at Harlows 8PM

Diva Show at Faces 9PM/$5

Mother Mayhem at Swabbies on the River 3PM/$3

Benefit for Randy Valdez of Colma with Colma - Deconstruct & more at The Boardwalk 4PM

(Pictures 1.Rick Springfield 2. Primus)

Summer Ends with Music in the Park

2010-08-13T23:42:14Z

As children are about to return to school and the temperature is about to drop, the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association invites everyone to Curtis Park for its last Music in the Park of the summer of 2010. On Sunday, August 29th from 6 - 8:30pm the eighteen-acre parcel at the heart of the Curtis Park community will play host to rock, rhythm and blues for adults, songs and games for kids, and an assortment of innovative health and wellness ideas. This free concert is part of the season of events of one of the busiest neighborhood associations in the state of California.

Making his debut performance at Music in the Park will be singer-songwriter G-Whiz, who will present his unique line-up of songs and games for children. With originals like “I Just Put a Spell On You” and “Stinky Mouth” and classics like Shel Silverstein’s “Daddy, What If?” G-Whiz offers children of all ages the opportunity to delight in the magic and absurdities of life. G-Whiz, aka Gary Weinberg, is an actor, writer, musician and composer who has worked in the stage, concert, film, and television mediums for twenty-five years. As a musician Weinberg’s credits include an international tour with the live docudrama company Ironclad Agreement. Weinberg is currently creating a pop musical based on the biblical story of Esther called Whispers Over Persia for the Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio.

Moving the concert into the evening is the high-voltage burst of musical moxie called The Bad Catz. Playing their signature mix of rock, blues and r&b, The Bad Catz is a seasoned ensemble of musicians and vocalists whose music has proven impossible to sit still for. The group formed several years ago when two well-established rock-blues bands--Stark Rhythm Maniacs and Blues Farm--decided to merge. The result was The Bad Catz, a crowd-pleasing company of musicians who perform both original compositions and adaptations of musical favorites. Featuring guitar, keyboards, sax, drums, and vocals, The Bad Catz will perform this month at a variety of clubs and events, including Gold Rush Days in Old Sacramento and the McConnell Estates Winery in Elk Grove. The Bad Catz are currently recording their first CD.

A host of health-and-community-minded sponsors are returning to help make this local concert tradition possible. It’s All Yoga has been voted “Best in Sacramento” twice by Sacramento News & Review. Personal trainer and nutritionist Sham Sanghera’s Inspired Wellness Boot Camp enables clients to achieve goals and maintain healthy lifestyles.

Since 1946, SMUD has empowered its customers with solutions that increase energy efficiency, protect the environment, and reduce global warming. D20 Dental, the first green dental office in Sacramento, combines the latest clinical practices and technological innovations in a warm, relaxed atmosphere. Locally-owned since 1973, the Sacramento Natural Foods Coop is a trusted source of natural foods and products, and a reliable resource for consumer information. Farm Fresh to You has been growing mouth-watering organic produce and delivering it to customers since 1976. For twenty-five years Miss Helen has inspired children with developmental activities in the areas of music, crafts, and movement, and Go Solar is a leading provider of solar electric and domestic water systems. The Law Office of R. Andrew Murray prides itself on its personal attention to clients in matters of real estate, business formation, estate planning, and bankruptcy. Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, established in 1977, is a public agency devoted to supporting, promoting and advancing the arts in the region.

Joining SCNA as Music in the Park’s main sponsors are City Councilmember Lauren Hammond, who provided the funding for the event’s updated setting, and Meg, Michael and Melissa Heede of RE/MAX Gold, the number one independently-owned brokerage firm in California.
In accordance with city codes, alcohol will not be permitted at Music in the Park. However, fine beer and wine will be provided in an enclosed garden area. All beverages are available for purchase by concert attendees. Proceeds will benefit the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association and the 2011 season of Music in the Park.

The Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association (SCNA) was formed in the 1970’s to rescue the old Sierra School from demolition. Since then, SCNA has brought neighbors together for a diverse slate of year-round events, and has offered a cohesive voice for community concerns. The restored Sierra 2 Center serves as a focal point for artists, teachers, students, parents, children, and seniors, who gather frequently in its dance studios, gardens, performance spaces, meeting halls and classrooms.

Deftones to play at Memorial Auditorium

2010-08-02T03:20:14Z

Since the release of their first studio album, “Adrenaline,” in 1995, Sacramento natives the Deftones have managed to create a sound that harmoniously blends aggressive guitars and percussion with undeniably beautiful vocals. Throughout the 15 years the group has been making music, the Deftones have built up a dedicated fan base that includes devotees of metal, experimental, hip-hop and alternative sounds.

To date, the Deftones have released six complete albums (not counting the 2005 B-sides and rarities CD), and each one delivers a different sound than the last. “Adrenaline” is filled with all the emotion and raw material that should constitute a band’s first album, while their softest and most melodic songs can be heard on “White Pony” (2000).

This year marked the release of the sixth album released by the Deftones, “Diamond Eyes,” as well as a departure from the band’s usual lineup. In the past, the Deftones consisted of Chino Moreno as vocalist, Abe Cunningham on drums, Frank Delgado on the keyboard, Stephen Carpenter on guitar, and Chi Cheng on bass. Sadly, bassist Cheng was seriously injured in a car accident in November 2008, leaving him in a “minimally conscious state,” according to the website devoted to Chi’s recovery. The Deftones persisted and recorded “Diamond Eyes” in the absence of Cheng with Sergio Vega taking over as bassist.

Although devoted Deftones fans continue to hope for Cheng’s recovery, “Diamond Eyes” does not fall short of expectations, maintaining the signature mix of harsh and haunting vocals and guitars. The album can most aptly be described as a cross between the bleak and guttural guitar of “Around the Fur” (1997) and the crisp, clean digital sounds of “White Pony.”

The video for “Rocket Skates,” one of the new singles, is relatively simple. The band plays in a deserted garage, warehouse, or factory of some kind while images of a reddish-colored room with a girl in a red dress flash across the screen. The song begins with the line, “You’re red soaking wet,” and has an easy to follow chorus with Moreno screaming, “Guns, razors, knives!” While the lyrics are as uncomplicated as the video, the imagery they conjure is clearly dark enough subject matter to suit the Deftones’ sound.

Another track of note is “Diamond Eyes,” the first song on the album, as well as the second single to be released. The song starts off with Carpenter’s heavy guitar riffs, but Moreno’s intense vocals, which border on mournful singing and bitter screaming, balance the aggression and make for a tune that is both emotionally awakening and catchy enough to sing in the shower.

To promote “Diamond Eyes,” the Deftones are embarking on a fall tour that begins Friday in Ventura and runs through mid-October. On Aug. 8 the Deftones return to their hometown to play the Memorial Auditorium.

Ultimately, the Deftones newest release should please both old fans and new listeners. Like all the Deftones’ old material, it’s impossible not to hear the emotion pouring through the tracks, and yet “Diamond Eyes” still manages to differentiate itself from all its predecessors.

“We hope that the music speaks for itself,” Moreno said in “The Creation of ‘Diamond Eyes’ (Part 5)” video, found at deftones.com. “That’s what it should do. If you make a good record, hopefully it’ll stand the test of time.… I think all of them have done that … with this one, I would think that 10 years from now it will still be relevant.”

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: 'World's best little big band' swings into Sacramento for Harlow's show

2010-07-30T02:59:43Z

Most of us can’t remember what we watched on TV last night. But Glen “The Kid” Marhevka, trumpet player for the eternally hep septet Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, recollects a family trip to Disneyland when he was 11 with total recall.

“I had started playing trumpet in the fifth grade – I was into anything that had horns,” said Marhevka, who will join his zoot-suited bandmates for a 10 p.m. concert Friday at Harlow’s. “Cab Calloway was playing the park, and my parents said, ‘You have to check it out.’ He was playing two shows, and I watched both of them. I was blown away. It definitely captured my attention.”

Flash forward, and the kid who was “a weird kid at school, into jazz and stuff with horns” is still obsessed with the high-energy, big band sound established by Calloway, Duke Ellington and their larger-than-life contemporaries of the 1930s and ‘40s.

Now in his 16th year with BBVD, Marhevka said he and the boys are having as much fun – if not more – than in the mid-‘90s when they were at the top of the pop-culture hot list thanks to a renewed interest in swing music that crested with their appearance in the Jon Favreau-scripted “Swingers.”

Founded in 1989 by Scotty Morris and drummer Kurt Sodergren, BBVD evolved into its current seven-man lineup with the addition of string bassist Dirk Shumaker, baritone sax player Andy Rowley, tenor saxophonist/clarinettist Karl Hunter, pianist Joshua Levy and Marhevka, who joined in 1995 after graduating with a music degree from California State University, Northridge.

BBVD’s expressive performance style and Morris retro-swing tunes had all of Los Angeles talking – and dancing.

“We were playing venues around Southern California,” recalled Marhevka. “From Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo to San Diego. All kinds of clubs, outdoor festivals – anywhere we could play we would play.”

Then came the Big Break.

“We started playing the Derby every Wednesday night,” he continued, referring to the trendy Hollywood nightspot popular with entertainment-industry hipsters. “It became this total scene down there.”

It was during their stint as the Brown Derby house band when the crew caught the attention of actor-director-screenwriter Favreau.

“Jon was hanging out there every Wednesday night swing dancing...and he gave us this script, saying, ‘We’re shooting this independent film, and we want you to be in it.’”

“Swingers” director Doug Liman’s homage to post-Rat Pack cool, became a cult hit at the box office and the record store, with a soundtrack that featured three BBVD tunes. Suddenly, the band was money.

“It was amazing,” says Marhevka. “We had no idea it was going to do what it did.”

BBVD’s subsequent self-titled 1998 debut album on Coolsville/Interscope sold 1.5 million copies — earning a Grammy nomination in the process.

High-profile appearances at the Orange Bowl, Super Bowl and in front of a trio of presidents followed. Recently, the band appeared on "Dancing with the Stars."

Averaging some 150 dates a year, the group has eschewed two- to three-month touring schedules in favor of more family-friendly agendas with no more than a few weeks a way from home at a time.

Currently touring in support of the 2009 album (the band's eighth) “How Big Can You Get” (Big Bad/Vanguard Records), Marhevka said the tribute album to Cab Calloway now brings him full circle from when he was that horn-crazy seventh-grader hanging out at an Anaheim amusement park.

“Everyone was a fan of Cab Calloway and his music,” said Marhevka, noting that the Calloway classic “Minnie the Moocher” has been a BBVD staple from the get-go. “We had thought of doing more of his music over the years and when Scotty – our songwriter and leader – brought up the idea of doing a concept album with Calloway music, we all thought it was great. We started recording it the year he would have turned 100.” Marhevka said they’ll probably play 75 percent of the album during Friday’s show, along with favorite cuts from the band’s catalog – plus a few tracks destined for their next studio album of original music.

“Our focus is still on doing original stuff," Marhevka said. "This was just a project that we thought would be fun to do– sort of an homage that would help turn people onto his music.”

Marhevka said the band had always been inspired by Calloway’s performances – from his high-energy stage presence to the classic ’40s suits.

“Anyone who’s seen us live knows we have a lot of energy onstage,” Marhevka said. “I talk to a lot of people after shows, and there are those whose friends have brought them. They say, ‘I didn’t know who you were, but that was one of the coolest shows I’ve ever seen – it was so much fun, and you’re looking like you’re having such a great time on stage.’ And we are, it’s great fun.

“I’ve been playing with these guys on stage for 15 years, and the band has matured and grown –we just keep trying to get better and stay true to our music, and that’s pretty much it.”

Marhevka said it’s the band members’ genuine respect and affection for one another that fuels the fun perceived by audiences, and what has kept them together way past the shelf life of most bands.

“Everybody’s great friends in the group,” he said. “There’s a cool vibe on stage, and it’s the same off stage. Everyone respects each other a lot; we’re great friends. With that many guys, you’d think some wouldn’t really fit in, but everyone we brought in was a friend of someone in the band. Everyone here is committed to the band 110 percent. Even when sick or something’s going on with someone, everyone’s going for it no matter what.”

Rihanna and Ke$ha rock Arco Arena

2010-07-12T02:44:26Z

Headliner Rihanna with Ke$ha and Travie McCoy blasted through Arco Arena Friday with a laser-filled, glittery performance for the Last Girl on Earth Tour.

Opening act McCoy proudly came on stage to roars from the audience of about 9,000 people. The upbeat “Dr. Feelgood” and “Billionaire,” pumped up the crowd.

Ke$ha, in all her hot-mess glory, skipped out on stage to “Right Round” by Flo Rida, a song in which she is featured. The pop star stood confidently in front of the bright lights with her gun-shaped guitar before starting right in with “Blah Blah Blah.”

Ke$ha’s silly antics and popular rhymes had most of the audience on its feet.

To introduce her hit single “Tik Tok,” she walked into the audience, causing an explosion of cheers and dancing.

Ear-piercing screeches soared through Arco when Rihanna finally came onstage in her long black, dress after a dream sequence video prepped the audience for a “dream” that was about to begin.

Beginning with a heartfelt “Russian Roulette,” the singer from Barbados pointed her fingers like a gun at the audience.

Through several outfit changes and changes from upbeat to mellow songs, the Last Girl on Earth put on a great show.

Plastic Army tanks, broken-down cars and guns appeared onstage as Rihanna and her dancers moved through “Rude Boy,” “Hard” and “Shut Up and Drive.”

Dancers dressed as monsterlike creatures on stilts engulfed the stage during “Disturbia,” as screens behind Rihanna projected creepy images. Video clips matched the mood of the song.

The night ended with “Umbrella,” which got the audience up and screaming. Lasers and lights flashed as a giant screen fell from the top of the stage to show Rihanna’s last dream sequence video.

As Rihanna exited the stage, the crowd continued to cheer. The first night of the Last Girl on Earth Tour was a success.

Photos courtsey of Steven Chea

CIP July 2, 2010

2010-07-03T09:32:38Z

The first Concerts in the Park venue for July included four bands for the evening. The Sea of Bees, Chelsea Wolfe, Sister Crayon and the New Humans made up the line up for the evening. This was the first time I’ve seen or heard the Sea of Bees and I don’t remember seeing their name in the line-up for Friday’s show. The four member group played a very impressive set. Some members of the audience took to the dance floor and this continued through all sets.

Chelsea Wolfe is another band I had not heard and their presence on stage was quite dramatic. Chelsea was dressed in mourning including a black veil that prevented the audience, or at least me, from getting a glimpse of her face. Their music followed suit and was different enough to instantly click in my heard. The mystery behind the veil also served a purpose, I don’t know about anybody else but I paid close attention to the lyrics trying to find hidden meanings but no obvious ones were to be found. I enjoyed their set and will probably look for more of their material.

I have seen Sister Crayon before and I’ve enjoyed their sets. Their Indie sound is full of great music that includes synthesizer sounds. The audience bobbed their head and tapped their feet in approval of the rhythmic beat. Terra Lopez, the lead singer, indicated one of their members was doing their last show with Sister Crayon but did not hear who that was.

The last act of the evening was the New Humans who’ve I’ve been fortunate enough to sit at a couple of their previous performances. By the time they started their set the audience had moved closer to the stage and soon begin to dance in front of the stage. The New Humans did not disappoint when they performed. One thing I’ve noticed is that very few of the acts perform encores. I think tonight may have been a good night for that.

Sometimes what goes on in the beer garden and other areas of Cesar Chavez Park make the whole evening that much more interesting. Tonight, Mayor Kevin Johnson walked around for a little while meeting with the audience and posing for some pictures. A group of people walked around with cardboard signs for Free Hugs. Kassandra Johnson, Jen Pearson, Amanda Massengill and Shane Gordon were here tonight to give out hugs. Abigail Jones was lucky enough to get free individual hugs as well as a group hug. A golden Human Robot performed for tips around the fountain area and I believe he’s been here before.

Another great Jerry Perry promotion with lots of great music and entertainment. Next week Izabella headlines the concert with opening performances by Walking Spanish and the Inversions.

Photos:

1-7 Sea of Bees, Chelsea Wolfe, Sister Crayon (2), New Humans (3)

8-14 Fan, Free Hugs (2), Mayor Johnson, Human Robot, Silly Dilly, Fan

Social Media Rocks

2010-06-11T21:40:19Z

And it’s definitely going to be rocking next Tuesday evening when the Social Media Club of Sacramento (SMCSac) presents their next free event at the Urban Hive. The very fitting subtitle for a panel discussion? “How Social Media is Changing the Tune of Sacramento’s Music Scene.”

Our city has long had a vibrant music scene, and social media is changing the way people interact with it. Sites like Pandora, Last.fm, YouTube, iLike, and YourSpins put the users at the helm, allowing them to rate, distribute, and even remix music. SMCSac has planned an evening geared towards helping local bands and musicians leverage social media tools from production to promotion.

The panelists for Social Media Rocks are some of the leading lights in the Sacramento music scene, including

Clay Nutting, whose Concerts 4 Charity have produced more than 100 events over the past ten years with the aim of fostering a healthy independent music and arts community in Sacramento. http://claynutting.wordpress.com/.
Jerry Perry is a legend in the Sacramento music scene, He has been producing music events in Sacramento for nearly 30 years at venues such as Vortex and Cattle Club. He produces some 200 live shows in our area every year, including the popular Friday Night Concerts in the Park. http://www.facebook.com/jerryperrypresents
TAIS, which stands for Truth Arises in Search, is a hip hop artist and emcee whose group, Righteous Movement, has toured for six years using their music to advocate self awareness and the quest for personal truth through music. Touching on everything from careless partying to American political thought, TAIS leads the quest on the search for truth. http://www.taismusic.com

However, SMCSac is not planning an evening merely to talk about music. Following the panel discussion, DJ Rob Fatal, will be at the turntable providing sounds to complement the continuing conversations. In addition, sponsor Urban Hive is featuring "Portraits: 32 Singers, 32 Songs," a double disc compilation that is being produced by Off The Air, along with an art exhibit featuring the individual portraits of each songwriter by Nine by 9 Photography.

As with all Sacramento Social Media Club events, there is no cost to participate, but please register in advance at Eventbrite http://socialmediarocks.eventbrite.com/ as an accurate head count is needed for the appetizers and drinks that will be provided. The Urban Hive is located at 1931 H Street in Midtown. Check-in begins at 6:30 pm and the evening will go to 10 pm.

The Social Media Club brings together journalists, publishers, communications professional, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborator. The Sacramento chapter was founded in March of 2009 by local users of social media. Jane Gassner is a member of the Leadership Committee of the Sacramento chapter.

Radio Station V101.1's 'Red Hot' Super Summer Soul Jam

2010-06-07T06:56:22Z

Remember the good old days of music, when the beat made you move and the dances had names such as The Smurf, The Wop, The Running Man, The Hammer and The Snake?

Those times came to mind Friday at “Super Summer Soul Jam” at the Radisson Hotel, with phenomenal performances by Lisa Lisa, The Jets and Tony! Toni! Tone!

Radio station V101.1 hosted the party to mark a decade in the business. For those who loved the music and dances of the '80s and '90s, the concert brought to mind one word … epic..

Promoters Mike Rogers and Henry Ramos told The Sacramento Press before the concert how the fun came to be.

“I put together a list of 20 performers and sent it to V.101 for them to pick a group of artists for their 10th year anniversary,” Rogers said.

“I wanted the radio station to feel that they had some input in building this concert," he said. "It’s not typical they get to do this, so everyone is excited.”

“I handle the street teams and promotion of the event,” said Ramos.

“We’ve been promoting the event for about three months,” he said. “We expect 1,200 to 1,500 people out tonight. It’s one big party but it is a real intimate show.”

Many people at the concert were fans of all three groups.

“It’s a mixture for me,” said Jerome Rhodes. “I was curious about The Jets … and Tony! Toni! Tone! is always good. “

“We were just now talking about the era we grew up in,” said Rhodes, who was there with Kimberly Ransom.

“It was a surprise to come to the concert tonight,” Ransom said. “I cannot wait to see Tony! Toni! Tone!.”

Diane Firth said she was there because of her friend Lisa Delgado. “I didn’t recognize the bands headlining, but she told me that I’d recognize the music,” Firth said.

“I’m a fan of all of them, especially Tony! Toni! Tone! and Lisa Lisa,” Delgado said. “My favorite song is 'Can You Feel The Beat Within My Heart.' ”

The crowd went wild for Lisa Lisa, who showed off her vocal range with "All Cried Out."

There were familiar songs for the audience to sing along with, and there were new songs from her album “Life For Love.” Lisa Lisa and her background dancers rocked out to “I Wonder If I Take You Home” and the audience pumped it up, too, waving their hands in the air.

Laviennia Jackson took a stroll down memory lane when The Jets took the stage.

“I was 11 years old when The Jets came out, now I’m 39,” said the mother of four. “I can even remember the boyfriend I was dating at the time when I listened to them.”

The Jets started their set with the high-energy “Sending All My Love” and “Cross My Broken Heart” and kept it up. People were dancing in the aisles to the up-tempo “Curiosity.” But things reached a new level when the group performed a medley of Jackson 5 tunes while re-creating their trademark moves. The Jets slowed things down with the Delfonics' “La La La Means I Love You,” then thrilled the crowd with its signature song, “Crush On You.”

The love was flowing both ways. “It’s been kind of surreal for us,” said Jets keyboardist Kathi.

“We’re celebrating our 25th anniversary and we love being in Sacramento.”

Lead singer Moanna Feinga called the city amazing. “I remember Sac from back in the day -- they have always been good to us,” she said.

“I was 11 years old when we first came here. We came here 25 years ago and we always get a warm response from this audience,” she said as she signed T-shirts and autographs.

For some, the main attraction was yet to come.

“I came to see Tony! Toni! Tone!” said New Jersey City native Elijah Scott. “I want to hear ‘It Never Rains In Southern California,' ” he said, singing a few bars.

No one seemed disappointed as the band sang hits from “20th Century: The Best of Tony! Toni! Tone!,” including “I Been Thinking Of You,” “If I Had No Loot” and “It Never Rains."

Lead singer-turned-solo artist Raphael Saadiq set the mood with his sultry voice, and the band followed suit.

Guitarist and vocalist Dwayne Wiggins performed a soul-stirring solo and “It Feels Good” put the audience into groove mode, as did “Lay Your Head On My Pillow” and “Just Me And You.”

Then the group sang the apropos “Anniversary,” and extended best wishes to V.101.

Their show was one hit after another, ending with "Let's Get Down."

“It is still a blessing to be here!” Saadiq told the audience. “We love being a part of something positive!”

Photography Credit: Delgreta Brown

Jackie Greene plays Fairytale Town

2010-06-07T03:31:46Z

Fairytale Town hosted Sacramentan performer Jackie Greene at a fundraiser in their park Friday, the first in a series of such concerts this summer.

The prominent folk rocker sold out the show and entertained the crowd with his original tunes as well as covers of the Grateful Dead. Greene is touring with bassist Phil Lesh of the Dead.

“I love Jackie!” Valerie Sheppard, 52, said. “He has turned me back onto music. Original, just a person that is self-taught, writes music, just awesome.”

The concert benefited Fairytale Town, including its weeklong camps and free-admission days for children with disabilities.

Most of the summer concerts are geared toward children and families, but some, such as a costume ball, are for adults only.

“Adults need time to play!” said Kathy Fleming, executive director of the park.

Other concerts include Mumbo Gumbo on August 11, and Sal Valentino and Ricky Burger on Sept. 9.

For more information, visit www.fairytaletown.org.

Classic Rock Lives! . . . in bed by 11.

2010-06-01T02:48:42Z

Heart and Sammy Hagar. Between them they have sold nearly 100 million albums, not one of which was sold to me.

I knew Heart was from Seattle, and was famous for such hits as "Barracuda," and "that one song" and "you know that other song, the one, with the singer."

Hagar, "The Red Rocker," I knew from Van Halen, of course, but I have always been more of a Metallica guy. I can honestly say that I liked the Hagar incarnation of VH more than the David Lee Roth incarnation, but that isn't really saying much.

Sammy seems like he'd be a lot of fun to hang out with. Diamond Dave seems like he'd do all your drugs then leave with your girlfriend.

Heart and Sammy "co-headlined" a benefit show at Raley Field on Sunday night, and I decided to check out these two rock icons firsthand, and to see who's been buying all these albums.

I got to the show around 7 p.m. and surveyed the scene. And what a scene it was. I'd say the demographic was 85 percent 40 to 60 years old, all dressed as they would have been 25 years ago. Maybe the highlight was being on hand to witness a Sammy Hagar look-alike meeting a Brett Michaels look-alike. It was a powerful moment. Like the meeting of two heads of state. Except very, very different.

The rest were mostly the children of the 85 percent, and, to their credit, none of them seemed at all embarrassed by their parents outfits.

The vibe was overwhelmingly positive. The entire show I only saw one negative interaction: A woman cut in front of about 40 people in line for cocktails. When a man in front of me confronted her about it, she said that for 20 dollars a drink, he could cut in line too. He offered a guess at what she might have done to procure that 20 dollars. For her sake, I hope he was wrong.

Other than that, people could not have been friendlier or more upbeat. While the opening act played, I struck up a conversation with a woman and her college-age son. I asked Tammy and Wes if they had seen Hagar or Heart before. Turns out they had seen Sammy a half-dozen times, including twice in Cabo.

"You just happened to catch him in Cabo twice?" I asked.

"Nope," Tammy said. "We went to Cabo twice specifically to see him."

To say that The Red Rocker has devoted fans would be an understatement. I met another gentlemen named Jim who estimated he had seen Sammy 35 times, with and without Van Halen. He was there with his 12-year-old son. It was his first concert.

"This is a day he'll never forget," I offered, thinking back on my first concert. I saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and Nirvana at the Cow Palace in 1992. I went with my mom and stepdad. Never were my parents cooler than they were that night.

Heart took the stage to raucous applause at 8:10 p.m. They received immediate bonus points from me when Ann Wilson came out playing a mean flute. Heavy metal flute is a powerful instrument when in capable hands. Ann proved more than up for the challenge. Ian Anderson would be proud.

The song was also noteworthy for being the only one in Heart's 70-minute set that I didn't immediately recognize, other than two songs from their upcoming album, "Red Velvet Car."

I could only name one song from the Seattle rockers going into the show, but it turns out I could sing along with just about every song they played.

They followed the flute song with "Heartless," (hey, I know this song!) "Never," (oh yeah, they play this) and "Straight on For You" (how did I forget this one?) before bringing the house down with Ann's sister Nancy on lead vocals for "These Dreams."

The beautiful love song was played in honor of Robert and Juanice. Or possibly Robert and Lanice. For Robert and his lovely date.

They followed that with the two songs from their new album. Otherwise known as "the bathroom/beer-run break." I hung around for both songs and thought they were quite good. The album drops Aug. 31.

Then they started playing their big hits. "Magic Man" into "Crazy on You" into "Barracuda" to finish off the set. Hit after hit, the crowd loving every second of it. They sounded great. The band was tight. Nancy displayed the chops that have made her one of hard rock's most formidable guitarists, and Ann belted out song after song, sounding just as she had in the band's mid-'80s heyday.

When they exited the stage, I mentioned to a fellow audience member that as co-headliner, Heart would probably come out for an encore.

"But they already played "Barracuda." What would they encore with? I think they're done."

Though he made a good point, I was soon proven right when Heart retook the stage to thunderous applause. And to answer his question, they opened with a Led Zeppelin cover, "What Is and What Never Should Be," which soon turned into "What About Love," finishing it off with another familiar hit.

The lights came on and the crowd prepared themselves for the Rooster's arrival (read: ordered drinks, two at a time).

At 9:45 p.m. the lights went down and the big screens on either side of the stage awoke. A video montage began playing, party scenes in both Mexico and the United States, with a variety of stars welcoming us to Cabo Wabo. ("This is Toby Keith... welcome to Cabo Wabo!" "This is Kenny Chesney... welcome to Cabo Wabo!" "This is Emeril Lagasse... welcome to Cabo Wabo! " Wait... what?)

The former Van Halen frontman took the stage, and the crowd went bananas. He opened with "There's Only One Way to Rock" and then brought his fans to a fever pitch with "I Can't Drive 55" and "Why Can't This Be Love?"

After the opening stanza he bantered with the crowd and with a host of waitresses who were on stage with him. "Waitress, I need a drink! I drove here, but I got someone else driving me home!" Throughout his set he had waitresses bringing him cocktails, many of which he shared with folks in the crowd.

He is a quintessential frontman, and I can now see how he has developed such an adoring fan base. His charm resonates to the back of the house, and that's no mean feat when you're playing a packed baseball stadium.

After a song I didn't recognize, he went into my favorite portion of his set. Meaning, he played songs that I both knew and liked. Following Heart's lead, he covered some Zeppelin, playing "Whole Lotta Love" into "Kashmir" back into "Whole Lotta Love." He then played probably his biggest Van Halen hit, "Right Now," which I remember as the music video that made me read. If I wanted to read, I wouldn't be watching music videos, now would I?

After politely requesting a refill ("Waitress, can I have another cocktail please? Make it a double!"), he continued with a bunch of songs that sounded vaguely familiar. "Best of Both Worlds," "Mas Tequila," "Heavy Metal" and a few others that I'm not sure of. He commanded the stage with a youthful exuberance that belies his age. The cat is 62 years old, parties, well, like a rock star, but he looks and acts on stage like he's in his 30s.

Someone should do a study on the age reversing properties of Cabo Wabo tequila. All I'm saying is that if one were going to go looking for the fountain of youth, they might want to start in Guadalajara.

He closed his set with Van Halen's ode to sexual frustration, "Finish What You Started," and thanked the crowd for a great night. There was an 11 o'clock curfew, and he followed it to the letter. It was the only time he acted his age all night.

Jonathan Richman at Blue Lamp tonight

2010-05-11T20:46:49Z

In the Middle Ages, traveling musicians called troubadours hopped from town to town, sharing songs of love and praise for townsfolk. In 2010, we may have Last.fm and BitTorrent, but the art of the troubador has been nearly lost.

Luckily, there are such modern minstrels as Jonathan Richman. The former singer and guitarist of '70s alt-rock band The Modern Lovers tours the world sharing songs about everyday life, troubles and fantasies. He even played a troubadour role in There's Something About Mary. And tonight he will be sharing songs with Sacramento, at the Blue Lamp on Alhambra Boulevard.

Fresh from his first tour through South America in April, Richman is now making the U.S. rounds with drummer Tommy Larkins. Their unique live show is full of quirk and compassion, with Richman's off-beat humor, honest efforts to connect with the audience, and occasional awkward hip thrust.

Tonight's show will likely feature songs from all over his 22-album, 34-year career. Richman's latest release, Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild on Neil Young's label Vapor Records, includes love songs and party songs, but also stories of his mother on her deathbed and feeling the pains of the real world instead of taking painkillers, plus songs in French and Spanish.

So for a performance full of some silly and some painfully honest songs, the Blue Lamp is the place. Catch this troubadour before he moseys on to the next little town.

Blue Lamp is located at 1400 Alhambra Blvd. The show begins at 9 p.m. and costs $12. 21+

[Photo courtesy of neworleans.com]

A Drink for Charity?

2010-04-15T05:47:42Z

Second Saturday has come and gone yet again leaving many people wondering what to do with their chilly April weekend. How about having a drink for charity? Concerts for Charity and Bastard Rat Brothers Productions are presenting a show on Saturday, April 17 at Clubhouse 24 with the proceeds from beer and wine sales going to sponsor music lessons for young students.

Concerts for Charity, a non-profit organization, in partnership with Musical Charis sponsors young musicians who would otherwise be unable to afford expensive musical training. C4C also produces concerts to raise awareness and funds for other community non-profit organizations.

With a promising line-up of melodic rock bands, this show is sure to entertain anyone who attends. Headlining band Kaura is known for using instruments not usually found in rock ensembles. Before taking a hiatus from touring Kaura opened for many influential rock acts such as: TOOL, Rob Zombie, and Godsmack. Opening bands include Rishloo from Seattle, Opus Dai from Los Angeles, and hometown favorite In the Silence from Sacramento.

Clubhouse 24 is located at 920 24 st. the doors open at 7 p.m. The show is open to all ages with beer and wine for sale to those over 21.

March Fourth Marching Band at Necropolis

2010-04-02T06:11:50Z

To say that March Fourth Marching Band is eclectic is an understatement. Although the mobile group consists of the usual marching band staples, including a 12-piece horn section and a 10-piece drum and percussion set, everything else about the group screams circus. Fire-eaters, stilt walkers, hula-hoop dancers and puppeteers are just a few of the elements that make March Fourth an act to remember.

The Portland natives who make up March Fourth performed Wednesday at Necropolis, a club in Old Sacramento.

Necropolis is small, so the performers and musicians mingled with guests at the bar while their equipment was set up. The show started a little late because of trouble with the tour bus -- a 1984 MCI Coach purchased on eBay -- but once it began, things got lively.

Unfortunately, because Necropolis’ ceilings are relatively low and the venue is downstairs, there were no stilt walkers, fire eaters or puppeteers. But that had no effect on the spirit of the performers or the energy of the crowd.

When the black lights came on, the costumes of the group really came to life. The glow from the black-and-white color combinations of the marching band's jackets, vests and hats lit up the room. And the white flags of the flag twirlers and the neon-pink hoops of the hula hoop dancer appeared particularly psychedelic.

The intimate venue allowed dancers to pull guests onto the dance floor to boogey with them. Everyone was encouraged to jump out of their seats and cut a rug.

“I love their junkie, artistic, thrown-together, sort of hodgepodge sound,” said Stephanie Bird. “I actually saw them at Burning Man and when I heard that they were playing here in Sacramento, I just had to go see them again. They really are entertainment for all your senses.”

The crowd at the venue ranged from toddlers to older gentlemen. Regardless of age, the antics of the dancers and the energy of March Fourth Marching Band kept a smile on everybody’s face, even without the more extreme elements of their act.

“The music is all about having fun,” stilt walker Sid Simpatico said. “That’s the most important thing.”

Friday Night Concerts in the Park return May 7

2010-03-30T20:52:21Z

The Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP) has released the 2010 schedule for the Friday Night Concerts in the Park. The free, outdoor concert series will rock Cesar Chavez Plaza (10th and J streets) every Friday night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. starting May 7 though August 13.

For the latest concert news, visit www.downtownsac.org/concerts.

2010 CONCERT SCHEDULE*

May 7 - Kepi Ghoulie
The Kelps, Dog Party, Simpl3jack

May 14 - Rick Estrin & The Nightcats
Low Down Dirty Dogs

May 21 - Dance Gavin Dance
Phallucy, Con of Man, Desario

May 28 - Mike Farrell
Aaron King & The Imperials, One Eyed Rhyno

June 4 - Method Echo
The Nibblers, Live Manikin

June 11 - The Nickel Slots
Los Blazing Hangovers
Mae McCoy & The Neon Stars

June 18 - Secretions
The Shruggs, The Four Eyes, The Enlows

June 25 - Mumbo Gumbo
Not An Airplane

July 2 - The New Humans
Sister Crayon, Chelsea Wolfe

July 9 - Izabella
Walking Spanish, Inversions

July 16 - Kate Gaffney
Gerald Pease, Autumn Sky, Juliana Zachariou

July 23 - Lite Brite
Prieta, Musical Charis

July 30 - Whiskey & Stitches
Final Summation, Bastards of Young

August 6 - The Golden Cadillacs
Light Rail, Johnny Guitar Knox & the Soothers

August 13 - The Brodys
The Phantom Jets, This Luxury

*Schedule is subject to change.

Produced by the DSP, the Concerts in the Park attract more than 4,500 fans every Friday night during the 15-week concert series. The event is presented by Budweiser and sponsored by Revolution Wines, CBS 13 and CW 31.

Disclosure: Article submitted by DSP Marketing Manager Jennifer Snyder

Club Circuitry featuring Anguidara and Shadow Fax

2010-03-29T19:25:42Z

Every fourth Friday of the month, Club Circuitry features live acts. Last Friday, the club presented Anguidara, a Sacramento-based band, and Shadow Fax, an artist from Modesto.

Anguidara usually consists of a complete instrumental lineup. However, for Friday’s show, only two members were present. Frontman David Wright sang, played a floor tom drum and controlled all preprogrammed sounds while Victor La Rocco played guitar.

“About two years ago, I had a live band that consisted of a keyboardist, me, a guitarist, a bass player, and a drummer,” Wright explained. “All of them have gone their separate ways, except for the bass player, who is still going to be able to come back and play for me. … I originally had a full band lined up for tonight, but because of my involvement with Savi0r and the Assemblage show, the amount of time that I was going to be able to dedicate to training a full band and teaching them all the drums, keyboard, and guitar and everything, I had to reinvest into Savi0r. In Savi0r, we’re bringing in a new member for keyboard, so I kind of had to readjust my priorities per se and it was just easier if I sang my part and played a little keyboard. And Victor from Savi0r, he picked up the guitar parts really quick, so it just kind of worked out that just the two of us would perform.”

With his involvement with Savi0r, Anguidara hasn’t been Wright’s highest musical priority. Friday’s performance at Club Circuitry was Anguidara’s first live performance in quite some time.

He talked about balancing Anguidara and Savi0r: “With Anguidara, I would hope that when Savi0r is not touring and we’re kind of prepping for another album, that during that time I can have a live team together to be able to actually play shows. Every once in a while I get the urge to just get up there and grab the mic and sing. So it’s just a way for me to kind of let that out and then still be in Savi0r and be kind of a behind-the-scenes guy playing drums or keyboard or whatever, letting somebody else be the front man. In fact that’s kind of what got me into Savi0r. I was at a point in Anguidara where I didn’t know where I was going with it. I didn’t have a vision and I was kind of losing track of my members. Everybody was kind of doing their own thing. Then Adam came along and invited me to be part of Savi0r. And I thought, ‘Yeah, I’ll just put Anguidara on the side and I’ll go be part of this.’ Now it’s kind of getting back to where I want to get Anguidara going again, but at the same time not take anything away from Savi0r.”

Anguidara’s heavy guitar riffs, screaming vocals and energetic drum beats made the show appealing for heavy metal and industrial fans, but the synths and theremin added elements to the music that bordered on experimental. The band even played a couple of instrumental pieces.

“Anguidara is unique to me because it’s kind of my journal,” Wright said. “It’s something that I experiment with and I think that’s something bands should do. I use a theremin that uses a photo cell and another thing that we used to do as a full band was a complete instrumental piece where we pulled out toms and I had my bass and guitar players using crazy effects. It was kind of a little dance track with interesting layers that everybody brought to the table. I’m doing that again tonight, but it’s going to be a little bit thinner because it’s just me and Victor. But like I said, it’s a type of playground.”

Guitarist La Rocco, added, “There’s not a lot of structure in the instrumentals. I kind of just get to do whatever I want when I play. It’s a lot of fun when you have someone that cool that gives you that much freedom.”

Shadow Fax, a one-man-band/DJ/recording artist, followed Anguidara with a multimedia music and visual experience.

“I think I’m different because I try to put on a multimedia experience,” said Jason Rivers, the man behind Shadow Fax. “My whole set is sequenced to digital visuals. For me, it’s like writing a movie. It takes a lot of time. Like when I try to put on a show, I don’t do it like a typical DJ in San Francisco where there’s no visuals and just one light. So that’s the difference I think between me and other artists. For all the audio, there’s also accompanying visual and I think that makes all the difference.”

Even though he only had two laptops and a projector on stage with him, Rivers varied his set. One of the most memorable tracks was an uptempo song in which scientist Stephen Hawking’s computer voice said “Shadow Fax” over and over while his photo flashed on a screen. To calm things down, Rivers sang a very slow and sad track, giving his computers a small break.

Another aspect of his work that made Rivers’ set stands out from a disc jockey's was his specialized equipment, which most DJs lack. And he didn't use samples in the traditional manner.

“I don’t use turntables or scratch records,” Rivers said. “I use MIDI controllers and software to do the same thing … There’s so many different manipulations out there.”

Shadow Fax's music is hard to categorize because it doesn't fit neatly into typical musical genres.

“Shadow Fax is my own material, ideas, and samples that I have stuck in my head,” Rivers said. “It’s kind of hard to describe it. I guess it’s like progressive electro trance industrial. Every song is kind of different, but the album is a theme album.”

Anguidara doesn't have any upcoming scheduled performances, but the music is free on their Myspace page.

Shadow Fax is working on a new album. Rivers is touring with his other projects, Rogue Sixx and Narcolepts. His music can be purchased through his web site.

Shadow Fax photos courtesy of Minh Nguyen

Jerry Perry Brings Haiti Relief and Sam Cooke to Old Ironsides

2010-01-28T03:52:21Z

Seven local musicians are getting together at Old Ironsides this Friday to not only pay tribute to music legend Sam Cooke but also help with the Haiti earthquake relief effort.

"Havin' a Party: A Tribute to Sam Cooke" was originally going to be just a show about Sam Cooke until concert organizer Jerry Perry saw the destruction in Haiti from the Jan. 12 earthquake. Perry decided to put on a benefit show to help.

"When things like this happen, we like to try to put together relief shows," said Perry, who also organized relief benefit concerts for Hurricane Katrina and Sept. 11.

"Whatever money we can raise through the door, we're going to take and give it to the Red Cross," he said.

The Haiti show was originally going to be on the night before the Sam Cooke tribute, but Perry decided to combine the two.

"I started to put something together, but it was ridiculous," he said. "There was a really good show on the Friday with a lot of bands on it."

The seven artist line-up is a stylistic mix, including The Visceral, Gillian Underwood, David Houston, Nancy Zoppi, Richard March, Four Eyes, The Inversions and Brian Rogers, who were all supportive of using their music to help with the disaster in Haiti.

"Performing at this benefit is an obvious way to show our support for those that are suffering and to share the message to our Haitian brothers and sisters that they are not alone and that people care about what is happening to them and their country," said Rob Klein of The Visceral.

There will not be any shortage of great songs, either.

Sam Cooke was a star in the late 1950s, with 29 Top 40 hits in his career. He was shot to death in 1964, and was known as a pioneer for soul music. He was posthumously awarded with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. His hits include "Another Saturday Night," "You Send Me," and "Havin' a Party."

The show was originally pitched to Perry by The Inversions as a way to honor Cooke near his birth date of Jan. 22. Now it serves as a way for concert-goers to give to the Haiti earthquake relief effort.

Perry likes that idea, noting that Cooke was a civil rights activist.

"It just felt right attaching the Haiti relief show to this show, and using the music of Sam Cooke to raise money for the relief," Perry said.

Perry, who is a fan of Cooke and his songs, promises a good time.

"It's just going to be a night of great music," Perry said. "It started out to be a Sam Cooke tribute night, and ultimately at its core that's what it is."

"For those that choose to attend the show, be prepared to have a good time and leave a little bit of your heart in Haiti," Klein said.

"Havin' a Party: A Tribute to Sam Cooke" will be at Old Ironsides on Friday at 9 p.m., and there is a minimum donation of $8. Old Ironsides is located at 1901 10th St. in Sacramento. The show is for ages 21 and up.

You Know, That 1 Guy

2010-01-21T04:25:46Z

What can you do with a cowboy boot, a hand saw, some metal pipes and string? A whole lot says Mike Silverman, performing as That 1 Guy on Thursday at Beatnik Studios. Don't miss your chance to see this one man band and his invention, The Magic Pipe.

Silverman, who grew up in the Bay Area, was introduced to music by his father's vintage stand-up bass. He says he remembers banging on it until he could reproduce sounds he liked. The instrument and being "in the right place at the right time" to his present career.

That 1 Guy has performed internationally and has large fan bases in places such as Europe and Australia, as well as the United States. He plays annually at the Woodford Folk Festival in Australia. Silverman says its among his favorite events and one at which about 15,000 listen to him play.

His one-man act started as a bet with a Bay Area club owner when Silverman was in college. Silverman performed 400-plus shows in one year with five bands. The bet was that if Silverman did the show alone he could keep the $50 that the band normally split. Silverman almost called the bet off the night before the show and described his time on stage as "one of the most awkward, terrible experiences ever."

By the end of the show, however, everything had changed. As the audience applauded, Silverman's uncomfortable experience was transformed into "one of the most rewarding nights of my life."

"People produce the best stuff when their back's against the wall," Silverman says, adding that he enjoys "never really knowing exactly what you're doing."

His method seems to work. Silverman has won awards at the Edinburgh Music Festival, toured with Buckethead of Guns N' Roses and produced several hit albums.

The Magic Pipe, That 1 Guy's stage centerpiece and Silverman's invention, is a one-of-a-kind instrument consisting of metal piping, two strings, 13 trigger sensors and other electronically connected pieces. He uses this instrument, to produce orchestral, full-bodied songs accompanied by lyrics.

That 1 Guy's new album, "That 1 Guy and the Magic Pipe Packs a Wallop!" which became available Wednesday.

For ticket sales and additional information,contact Beatnik Studios at 916-443-5808 or online at www.beatnik-studios.com.

For additional information, album purchases and tour schedule for That 1 Guy, visit www.thatoneguy.com.

A winter evening with George Winston

2010-01-09T02:13:32Z

Not having any relatives west of the Mississippi, my family often traveled up to Portland to spend Thanksgiving with old friends. We'd usually pick up a couple books on tape from the Contra Costa library before heading out on road trips like these, but pianist George Winston's albums Autumn and December always traveled with us.

Because of these albums' bonding themes – holidays, family, journeys – the music grew into an important memory from childhood. In some ways, it ceased being art for me, in that I couldn't evaluate it with a critical eye as I developed musically. This isn't to say that I think George Winston is a bad composer or pianist. In the same way I occasionally eat at a childhood restaurant or put in an old movie regardless of its merits, Winston's music provides a service to me that eclipses anything that it could offer artistically.

So when I found out that he'd be playing the Crest Theatre in Sacramento Thursday night, I purchased tickets for the concert and convinced some family members to drive up from the Bay Area to join me in the realization of this shared tradition. I left work early, showed everyone the fading holiday cheer of Midtown and stuffed them full of pizza. After finishing a glass or two of wine and poking around the historical displays, we made our way inside the beautifully ornate (if half-filled) Crest.

It's always a crapshoot to hear an artist live for the first time, especially after years of familiarity with the ins and outs of his recordings. You can't help but anticipate the exact melody, tone, and tempo you know by heart. This put me at a disadvantage. It's like hearing the same stories about an old family member over and over throughout your life. When you finally meet that person, how could you not expect him to be the one-dimensional person from those stories?

I've been to enough reunion concerts to know that this discovery process is usually irreversible. Depending on the strength of the recordings and their attachment to me, a disappointing performance could end up spoiling all future listenings. This time, however, I felt confident. The specific role of his music in my life distances the art from the artist himself.

Several minutes past the advertised start time, Winston entered the room and took a seat beside the Steinway. He was dressed modestly in a collared shirt, blue jeans and in his traditional stocking feet. Although his beard, glasses and male pattern baldness might have imparted a professorial impression, his soft-spoken nature and light-hearted candor showed the depth of a person with respect for his audience and a passion for the music he plays.

There was a quietness that extended beyond his speaking and into his performance. None of the instruments he played were amplified, but beyond that, Winston's care for resonance and tone required the listener to focus completely on the stage. The piano managed to fill the room adequately, but the softness of his "slack key" guitar renditions demanded a particularly deft ear. Normally, when an artist removes accepted tools in a performance or on a recording, it ends up being more of a parlor trick than a benefit to the overall sound. In this case though, the music was better for it, even if I had to cock my head during several pieces to hear them clearly.

The Winter Show was peppered with pieces familiar to me: "Carol of the Bells" from December, "Moon" from Autumn, and a handful of compositions from these and other solo piano albums he's released over the four decades that span his career. When a familiar tune from those canonical recordings came up, my initial reaction was to jerk and react to the differences in melody in his improvisations, and it was hard not to notice when he was a note or two off when exploring an idea or working up to a new one. But it was fun listening to him add inspiration to his piece; the uniqueness made up for the occasional misstep or half-explored diversion.

He also drew selections from a handful of artists that have influenced him over the years, from early Doors songs to Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts classics. These choices enhanced the concert and made it a personal experience. He has a passion for stride piano, a jazz style from the 1920s and '30s, and blended his own personal touch into these standards well. The pieces were a good fit for Winston's approach to the piano; he keeps his own compositions anchored with a rhythmic approach for his left hand while doing the melody and the improv with his right, a hallmark of the stride style. He also played several slack key guitar tunes, including a haunting piece that closed out his concert.

In the end, I appreciated learning of his influences and hearing the tunes and styles that were personal to him, rather than attending a note-for-note run-through of his most famous albums. I left with a more accurate impression of him and his music than when I walked in, but the nostalgia for those classic albums wasn't lessened by seeing the bigger picture. If anything, seeing this humble, unassuming man play the soundtrack of my formative years was like finally meeting the distant relative for the first time and leaving with a greater appreciation of the stories of the past.

London Calling gets the tribute treatment at Old Ironsides

2009-12-08T04:12:26Z

One could make the argument that The Clash's "London Calling" is one of the riskiest moves in rock history. After two well-received and straightforward punk albums, the quartet from London threw fans, critics and the entire rock world a curveball in 1979.

Spanning at least three genres in 65 minutes, the double LP was not only twice as long as anything the band had recorded prior, but also about the last thing anybody expected from one of the founders of the British punk movement.

It could be considered just as risky, then, that a concert promoter would find it feasible to actually put together a bill of bands of equally varying styles to cover the classic album in its entirety. However, Jerry Perry, concert promoter extraordinaire, took a huge gamble anyway and collected 11 of the area's finest bands to cover all 19 tracks in sequence. Judging by the sardines-in-a-can feel of Old Ironsides on Saturday night, the payoff was huge for both Perry and every pint-swinging rock fan in the venue.

The Secretions opened things on an appropriately raucous scale with the title track and "Brand New Cadillac," with guitarist/vocalist Paul Filth hoisting his axe in the air, striking the now classic pose on the cover of the album at the end of their two-song set.

Such conciseness and organization was a welcome and unexpected trend throughout an evening stuffed with more bands than the bar's backstage can likely hold. Changeovers were quick and painless, aided by the wise decision to leave the drums and amps onstage, so each act only had to bring their stringed (and, in some cases, brass and key) instruments for each set.

Both Bastards of Young and Stars and Garters brought their own individual sounds to the more offbeat tracks. The former nailed the meandering halftime shuffle of "Jimmy Jazz" while the latter's glittery silver guitar and all-American looks brought out the rockabilly undertones in "Rudie Can't Fail" and "Spanish Bombs."

Underage emo act The Kelps brought the punk back to the crowd, with everyone singing along to the chorus of "The Right Profile" -- "And everybody say, 'Is he alright?'" The young band was entrusted with one of the toughest and most loved songs of the night in "Lost in the Supermarket." They bravely added an explosion of punk energy at the end that brought their set to a satisfying close.

"Funny story about The Kelps: None of them are 21 so they have to get the hell out now," said Perry before The No Goodnicks took the stage to finish off the first disc with the call and response of "Clampdown" and "The Guns of Brixton."

Armed Forces Radio started the second half of the record with "Wrong 'Em Boyo" and "Death or Glory," while The Broken Poet brought an analog Moog keyboard to the urgent "Koka Kola" and the piano driven "The Card Cheat."

To finish off the last side, The Various Artists took "Lover's Rock" and "Four Horseman," and Tom H and Jessi played a rendition of "I'm Not Down" with only guitar and vocals.

Local ska quintet Storytellers squeezed onto the stage for the appropriately laid back "Revolutionary Rock." Trombonist Marcus Faccini throttled his instrument as he leaned into the crowd while the rest of the band maintained the reggae vibe of the track.

Final Summation ended the main show by playing "the song that wasn't supposed to be on the album," "Train in Vain." It was a sufficiently energetic finale that led into a string of miscellaneous songs from the Clash discography. Armed Forces Radio and Bastards of Young both came back to run through a few more songs, while Broken Poets closed the medley with "I Fought the Law," itself a punk-infused cover of a song originally recorded by The Crickets.

Perry took the stage as the band took down the set behind him, not only thanking everyone for coming, but also acknowledging the night's success by adding there may be another similar show in the near future at an all-ages venue so kids like The Kelps could play and stay. The crowd's cries for "one more!" after the last song are certainly an indication of a much larger audience for this musical chairs of local bands.

Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers play Marilyn's on K Sunday

2009-11-07T06:57:56Z

Stephen Kellogg is not the type to brag about sharing the stage with Melissa Etheridge and hanging out with Carly Simon, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett. In fact, the musician never mentioned it in his interview with The Sacramento Press.

Kellogg's favorite moment in his 15-year musical career wasn't even playing music. It was a humbling moment watching the drummer in his band help a soldier in the Middle East.

"In Kuwait this past spring, we met this Army Ranger shipping out that night for Afghanistan," Kellogg said. "He was hanging out, listening to us play, and it came up that he played banjo. Boots, the drummer from our band, who also plays banjo, gave his banjo to the Army Ranger. It felt like all the other things we'd done up to that point were leading up to this single definitive moment (where) the person whose life you're touching will never forget."

Fifteen years after his first demo recording, Kellogg will come to Sacramento with his band, The Sixers, on Sunday. They will perform at Borders Books in Roseville and Marilyn's on K, 908 K St.

Kellogg said he grew up in a household full of music by the Grateful Dead, Jackson Brown and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. But it wasn't until attending a Whitesnake concert in the 80s that the idea of music as a job became feasible.

He said it was "fate" that brought him to choose it as a career, and that once he realized you could make a living from it, he never looked back. Kellogg has since released five albums as the Sixers, also known as Sk6ers, pronounced Skick-sirs; three solo albums; one with The Stephen Kellogg band; and one with the Root Cellar Band.

Last year, the Sk6ers were favorably reviewed by NPR: "Their homegrown sound mirrors the folk-rock style of The Band, presented with great humility by a lead man with a Springsteen-sized personality."

Last month, the Sk6ers' new album, The Bear, debuted at No. 7 on Billboard's New Artist Charts.

Kellogg explained the band's readiness to play shows for social causes, for instance, last month's show for St. Louis Children's Hospital. "If we had made it, in terms of becoming a household name early on, I'm not sure our music would have gotten where it's supposed to go.

"You have to do other things that aren't trying to move your career forward," Kellogg said. "If we're going to do this for the long haul and be proud of what we've accomplished, we need to take music and make it different in ways that aren't so ego driven."

Having played about 1,000 shows with the Sk6ers, his life is a "dream life" he said, adding that he feels an obligation to give back.

Though the Sk6ers never have been to Sacramento, they say they're excited to visit the city. Kellogg has a friend from Sacramento who will take the band on a tour of the city, he said.

The musicians will play a free acoustic set Sunday at 1 p.m. at Borders Books in Roseville, because Borders stocks the Sk6ers' albums. "It's a good idea to get the back of those who get your back," Kellogg said.

Sunday's show at Marilyn's on K will begin at 7 p.m. with acoustic rock openers Tyrone Wells and Matt Hires. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door and can be purchased here.

Photographs credit Welk Music Group Publicity / Vanguard Records

A Day in the Zone

2009-09-27T01:37:04Z

People were "Bubbly" as they came in swimsuits and beared the sun while singing and dancing to the various artists that graced the stage at the 13th annual Day in the Zone concert at Discovery Park.

Howie Day, Colbie Callait, Hoobastank, and Train were the performers for the show put on by 100.5 FM The Zone.

"I came to see Colbie," Anika Polyak of Serendipity Boutique said. "It's really hot out, and it's not as crowded as last year's show, but it's still good."

Callait was definitly the crowd favorite, from her new song "I Won't" atop a firetruck ladder to her acoustic version of "Bubbly."

"Colbie should have headlined the show,"first-time attendee Brandon Osburn said. "I bet a lot more people would have come out."

"The sound system is always so good at these concerts," Polyak said. "It doesn't matter where you are sitting or how far away you are — you can always see and hear the performers."

Despite the heat, fans flocked to the stage as Train appeared and began to sing "Calling All Angels."

Yellow and white beach balls flew among the crowd and people danced as the bass shook the ground.

"I really like the lead singer of Train, Pat Monahan," Polyak said. "I'm hoping to hear some of his new solo songs."

Although Monahan did not play any of those original songs he did do a montage of Led Zeppelin songs

In the middle of Monahan's performance, he was accompanied by four young girls who he picked out of the crowd: Abby, Jenna, Riley and Kira, who he named his "Trainettes" as they sang "She's on Fire."

The Zone's Drew Hoffar said he was happy with the turnout of about 6000 and thinks the show was a success.

"We want to bring everyone what's hot in Sacramento," Hoffar said. "And right now, Howie has a new album, Colbie is just hot, everyone has been requesting Train, and who doesn't love Hoobastank?"

Hoffar said that, The Zone won't start planning next year's event until February, but he hopes to see Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift as potential performers.

The Halloween Exotic Zone Ball is the next big event for 100.5 The Zone. Hoffar said it's the biggest and best party in Sacramento, and they will be having a surprise musical quest.

"I would come again It's a great concert," said first time attendee Sasha Weyl from Serendipity Boutique.

It's Hammertime

2009-09-04T06:01:13Z

MC Hammer brought out a crowd of thousands at the state fair Sept. 3 performing his classics in a live concert.

Fans who were unable to buy tickets to the show, which quickly sold out, stood in a line that wrapped around the concert area starting at 3:30 to get a wristband for lawn seating and standing.

"I'm so gonna get my dance on," said Hammer fan Janelle Tann. "It's like a childhood rewind, and I get to see an artist that I adored when I was growing up. It's a dream."

Hammer performed some of his greatest hits, including, "To Legit to Quit," "Cant Touch This" and "Pumps and a Bump."

"Sacramento is like home," Hammer said. "I've been coming her for 20 or 30 years, that's why I agreed to do this."

Throughout his performance he walked through the crowd taking pictures with people, singing to them and dancing side by side. By the end of the show, he had brought close to the whole audience up onto the stage to dance and sing. At one point, he even told the security to guards to just let people keep coming on stage.

"I don't do performances, I do parties, so everybody can have fun," Hammer said.

At a more somber moment in the show, he payed tribute to the late Michael Jackson as well as his close personal friends Tupac and Luther Vandross.

His style for this show was a bit more toned-down than those of the past. Everyone wore fitted white pants and black and white tops. There were no Hammer pants on the stage this time, but fairgoers who wore Hammer pants received free admission.

"When me and my friends would go to the club, we started seeing all these baggy pants, so we decided to take it up a notch and get real baggy, and that's where Hammer pants came from," Hammer said.

Hammer also contributes to many local charities in the Sacramento area.

"Me and my wife like to focus on homelessness, breast cancer awareness and hunger. Those are important," said Hammer said.

He has also dabbled in television lately, starring in his new show "Hammertime."

"If there was anything that would surprise people, that they didn't know about me before, they know now," Hammer said. "I think people would have been surprised at how important academics is to me."

"I want people to associate everything I do together, from music to TV to helping people," Hammer said.

MC Hammer's down-to-earth attitude and love for his fans showed through during his performance, and everyone around had appreciation for the legend.

"He is definitely too legit to quit," Tann said.

Sol Peligro to headline final Concert in the Park

2009-08-14T02:22:44Z

"People are probably going to give me [s***] about this," said Sol Peligro lead singer Sam Miranda. "Watching John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever [at] eight years old, I thought, 'This guy is cool.'"

Though his band Sol Peligro plays reggae-influenced cumbia music -- not disco -- Miranda points to this moment as the first time he knew he wanted to be in a band. Friday night, Sol Peligro will be headlining a Concert in the Park that includes Retrograde Revolution and La Noche Oskura (click links for MySpace).

Retrograde Revolution sounds like a Yellowman-influenced reggae/hip hop outfit, while La Noche Oskura combines punk and ska to sound like a Mexican Sublime.

Miranda formed Sol Peligro in 2004, a year after leaving his previous band, Raigambre, because he was going to be a father. Raigambre had been a success, winning a Sammie, his band mates often practicing up to four times per week.

As soon as Miranda found out that a baby was on the way, he left the band on good terms. It allowed the band to focus on music and allowed him to take a full-time job at a dental insurance company to prepare for the baby.

After 20 years of performing as a musician, Miranda reflected on why this was the wise choice. "Now I have a family to think about," he said.

"Music was a fun thing to do, [but] years ago I used to catch myself being bummed out about it," he added. "I was trying too hard to make it a living, and it took the fun out of it."

So when Miranda formed Sol Peligro, he vowed that the band would simply be in it for the fun. In the first year of its existence, he invited members of different Sacramento bands like Bucho, Sinclair and Filibuster to accompany him.

Once the band made a name for itself and recorded an album, Gritos de mi Pueblo, 2005, Miranda sought out more permanent members. One thing that all 10 of the current band members have in common is a full-time job.

Besides Miranda, the band features a four-piece horn section: two trumpets, sax and trombone. The rhythm section includes a keyboard player, two guitarists, a bass player, percussionist and drummer.

As for the band name, which translates literally to 'dangerous/threatening sun,' "it doesn't mean [anything], it's just a cool name," Miranda said. "It's just a name, so our music, and the content of our lyrics speak for what we stand for."

In 2006, the band won a Sammie for best World/Latin band. "That to me was cool; I contributed enough [to the music scene] that I got recognized," Miranda recalled.

Besides the Sammie, the biggest moment for the band so far was "doing a show at Harlow's with a group out of Texas called Grupo Fantasma," Miranda added. Grupo Fantasma occasionally backs Prince and was nominated for a Grammy earlier this year.

Miranda said he is happy to be playing the last Concert in the Park for the season, but equally excited for the End of Summer Festival, which will continue for the next five Fridays in Cesar Chavez Plaza.

"I saw the lineup and I [thought], 'Oh yeah, that's frickin' great,'" he said. "It's a great opportunity for people to get in there, and it's a great venue, especially for somebody who's starting out."

Friday Night Concerts in the Park take place at Cesar Chavez Plaza on 10th and J Streets from 5 to 9 p.m. every Friday until Aug. 14. The season continues as "The End of Summer Fest" at Cesar Chavez Plaza every Friday night from Aug. 21 through Sept. 18.

Don't forget that your Friday night festivities continue if you show your wristband to one of the following businesses:

Brew it Up!: $4 drafts, Bacardi, Jack Daniels and 3 Olives cocktails, plus half-price appetizers

Fuzio Universal Bistro: $3 drafts, $5 martinis, plus a selection of $3 appetizers

Marilyn's on K: $1 off well drinks, $3 draft Bud Light

Parlare Euro Lounge: $3 domestic beers, $5 wine, $4 assorted appetizers

Pyramid Alehouse: $2 pints of Curveball

Sofia on 11th: $3 drafts, $4 wines, $4 wells and and half-price appetizers

Table 260: Half off appetizer menu, 10 percent off dinner, $5 drink special on Sac Soul

Toppingz Pizza inside Image Lounge: $2.50 Bud and Bud Light, $4 Jack Daniels, appetizers starting at $1

Sheraton Grand Hotel's PMB Bar: $3.50 Bud and Bud Light (bottle or draft), $5 nachos or artichoke dip

Amourath Lounge at Hyatt: $1 off Bud, Bud Light and all appetizers

Citizen Hotel: $99/night weekend rate for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in a deluxe king, queen or dual-double-bedroom. This deal is exclusively for the Concerts in the Park, and for information on how to book the room, call 916-447-2700.

photograph credit Stephen Bingen

Early Times to Play Hometown Show at Harlow's

2009-08-13T04:57:05Z

Native Sacramento guitarist, DJ and producer Early Times will return home for a performance at Harlow's on Friday.

While his MySpace page lists his genre categorization as "Crunk/Dutch pop/Black Metal," Early Times' music is even more eclectic in reality. The sampling of songs on his profile ranges from the slap bass funk of "Doin' the Nasty," to the Hammond organ-inflected blues of "Black Panties," to the spacey, improviasational jam piece "DUI." His capability to play multiple styles has earned him collaborations with a diverse group of musicians both local (Tesla, Cake) and national (trumpeter Wynton Marsallis).

Though he currently resides in New York City, Early spent his years in Sacramento building his reputation in the local scene. His past nominations for nine different Sacramento Area Music Awards, including Best Rock Band, Best Blues Band and Best Jazz Band, showcase the broad scope of his influences. He made the move to Manhattan a year after winning the Critics' Choice Award as Sacramento's Best Guitarist in 1997.

"I try to make it out to Sac once a year," Early said via phone en route to Sacramento from Minneapolis, Mo. MN. "It's pretty much around this time, too. There are plenty of people in the music scene there I'm still in contact with."

As for his categorization, it seems that the wide space of "multi-genre" is the only one Early is comfortable occupying. "You pretty much have it with that classification," Early said of his sound being described to him as "broad and tough to pin down." "When I was in Sacramento, I would play a jazz club for a few nights, then a blues club and maybe a rock club, all in the same week sometimes."

The show this Friday will be a mix of old and new songs from Early's career and will "probably include some improvisations here and there," he said.

Early's lineup will include his longtime rhythm section of Neil Franklin (drums) and Artis "A.J." Joyce (bass). The main guitarist will be The Sacramento Press' own Sales Manager, Sonny Mayugba. Aside from the main lineup, the set will also include appearances from a range of other local musicians. "I'm not sure who will be making it out, but whoever does will be sitting in and joining whenever," Early said. "It's always a big party when I play."

A compilation CD of unreleased tracks, titled Sacramento's Most Wanted: 1990-1997, will be available at the show. "It's pretty much a bunch of stuff I did awhile back but never found a spot for," Early said. "Most of the songs have been played live, and I like them all enough to have them on the record."

His adventurous and unpredictable blend of genres is sure to thrill the crowd at Harlow's. The show starts at 9 p.m. at 2708 J St. It is 21+.

Early Times' biography and samples of his music can be found here:

http://www.myspace.com/earlytimesband

High on Fire at Harlow's

2009-08-10T22:00:34Z

As if imitating one of the mighty beasts that haunt his band’s album covers, High on Fire's Matt Pike stands before his audience, arms outstretched, as a devilish grin peeks through his drapes of sweaty, matted hair. Pike proceeds to tear into another crushing riff on his custom nine-string guitar and the crowd responds accordingly; fists pumping to the beat, hair cutting gleaming swaths through the air thick with beer and the unique blend of bodily aromas that only a metal show can provide. Such was the scene at Harlow’s Saturday night.

Before Pike and his band took the stage, the opening acts built up the necessary fervor. Red Tape kicked the night off with an energetic set filled with dirty riffs played with a punk attitude that didn’t skimp on the melody. Guitarist/vocalist Jeff Jaworski even closed the performance with a NOLA-inspired groove straight from the bayous that compelled the early-comers to stomp their boots in unison.

Brooklyn retro thrashers Early Man were next, and the quartet ripped through a string of aggro anthems that echoed the glory days of the Bay Area, complete with Flying Vs, vintage cutoffs and pauses for a few generous gulps of Bud. Frontman and co-founder Mike Conte’s lips were curled in a perpetual Dave Mustaine snarl as he spat throwback gems like “All right, so you wanna fight/My fists are sticks of dynamite.” For 45 minutes, the classy club in downtown felt like a dive in the dilapidated back alleys of San Francisco.

When it finally came time for the headliners to take the stage, the standing area was packed end to end with metal dudes and dudettes eager for the Oakland collective to whip them into shape.

And what a workout it was. Despite its beanstalk appearance, Pike’s shirtless, heavily tattooed form dominated the stage as it writhed to the vicious tom work of drummer Des Kensel and murky rumbles of bassist Jeff Matz.

Five new tracks off the trio’s as-yet untitled fifth album made their second live appearance after a gig in Eureka the night before. The only one that was actually intelligible through Pike’s gravely Lemmy Kilmister growl was “The Mystery of the Elm,” but it and the other four were dripping with as much fury and sludge as anything in the decade-old act’s arsenal.

If Pike is indeed the underground’s Lemmy, and High on Fire is its Motörhead, then the band’s “Ace of Spades” is “Devolution.” The guys ended the night with the track, which opened their breakthrough 2005 record, Blessed Black Wings. Pike perched his foot authoritatively on the monitor as he shot his fist at the crowd to the syllables of the song’s titular refrain. The entire front row shouted the chorus back between bouts of moshing. Pike absorbed the energy and burned it instantly as he sent the night crashing down with one final dramatic rake across his guitar.

Aaron Young: rising Sacramento soul singer

2009-08-05T04:42:56Z

Aaron Young can't stop writing new songs.

"I'm sort of plagued with it," he said. "I write every day, no matter what I'm doing."

It's part of a work ethic that came from growing up on a pecan orchard in Mississippi.

"I don't know if you've picked pecans to make some money, but you need a lot of them to make a pound, so you're out there a long time," he explained. "It taught me how to stay disciplined at something [and] develop patience."

It's Young's patience and discipline that helped him through rough times, like being dropped from a record label and being homeless in San Francisco.

This Friday night, the currently West Sacramento-native soul singer will bring his uplifting lyrics and passionate vocals to Marilyn's on K. Tickets cost $12, and the show begins at 9:30 p.m.

Young's affinity toward music developed from growing up in the South. "Singing in a [Southern Baptist] church choir allowed me to start singing," Young said. "That's where it all began."

In high school, Young said he had already thought about pursuing a career in music.

Back in the 90s, he started a group in high school called Mixture, which earned a record contract and a number of fans. The group's success included opening for platinum selling R&B artist Brian McKnight.

Mixture's record label moved them into a record executive's house in San Francisco.

While in the Bay Area, the group collaborated on a song with Northern California hip-hop icon E-40. Their single "Pop Ya Collar," which also featured Messy Marv and San Quinn, received radio play in the Bay Area.

But then their record label folded and the band broke up. Young was left with the choice of moving back to Mississippi or remain homeless in San Francisco.

"I stayed out here and by staying it made me a homeless guy because I didn't have a place [to stay]," he said. "I bounced around quite a bit until I got another deal, and I went straight ever since."

Since then, Young has accomplished much more than "going straight." He's toured the East Coast with Grammy-award-winning pianist Billy Beck (of Ohio Players fame) in his band.

He's recorded a self-produced album, They Call Me AY, in 2007. Since moving to West Sacramento (conveniently located near San Francisco where he cut his teeth and a short flight away from Los Angeles where a number of major record labels reside, he says), he's also won the 2008 V101.1 FM Homegrown Soul competition.

"That got me where I am right now," he said of the competition. "It got me on the radio, and got me connections with a record label."

That label was Sacramento's DIG Music. Though the label has not signed Young, several people who work for the company are guiding him, including Jeff Trager.

"I want to emphasize the fact that what separates him from everybody else is his material," said Trager, DIG's director of artists and repertoire. "And it's only going to get better because he works at it."

Now 30, Young is currently working on a follow-up album, and playing shows with Vernon "Ice" Black, who will be in Young's band on Friday. Black's credits include playing guitar with such artists as Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock and Aretha Franklin.

"I think he's going to be discovered by some labels as soon as they come out to see and hear him," Trager added. "If a kid has a chance to make it, I think it's a kid like Aaron Young."

*photographs courtesy Aaron Young

Too Short Center of Attention at Center Court

2009-08-03T06:49:50Z

By Andrew Thomas

Fans from all over Northern California gathered to see Bay Area rap legend Too Short perform Friday night at former Sacramento Kings Chris Webber's club Center Court in Natomas. Patrons were in good spirits all night long with hip hop music filling the air as the drinks poured from the bar. TV screens wrapped the walls showing music videos, many of which were from Too Short to get the crowd ready for the legend's appearance. “I’ve been a fan of Too Short since ‘Don’t Fight the Feelin,’” said club promoter Tina Cris from Keen Management. “Don’t Fight the Feelin” was a single off of the rapper's 1988 album “Life Is… Too Short.” This shows how loyal Too Short fans are in Northern California.

It didn’t take long for the club to fill up with fans. “It looked like a sea of people on the dance floor, it was a better turn out than we expected,” said club promoter Richard Beir of EHP Entertainment. Too Short entered the stage around one a.m. being introduced by club owner Chris Webber with fans screaming the rappers name. With no opening act, Too Short started the night off with the lead single from his 2003 album “Married to the Game” song “Shake that Monkey.” With a drink in his left hand, and a microphone in his right hand, the rapper still managed to greet his fans while performing giving hive fives and handshakes to the audience throughout his performance.

Too Short has made a career for himself with rapping raunchy lines and telling stories of sexual prowess. His fans the whole time have loved him for it; men and women both. When the rapper performed “Freaky Tale” from his 1987 album “Born to Mack,” the crowd erupted. The show wrapped up around two a.m. with a pleased audience. Too Short has a career that has spanned over two decades. In an industry where artist are lucky to last one year, he has proven he is one of hip hop legends and is a hero to Northern California.

A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia All-Starz to perform in Sacramento this weekend

2009-07-24T00:27:10Z

It's a good year, so far, for Abraham Quintanilla III, known to many as "A.B." Quintanilla. This 45-year-old entertainer was heavily embroiled in a nasty court battle that dragged on for years until finally winning back the Kumbia Kings this year. This victory came after the loss of a long-time friendship with Cruz Martinez, much negative media buzz, and a hefty legal price tag. At last, he can put it all behind him and concentrate on his current band, Kumbia All‑Starz.

Many know Quintanilla first as the brother of legendary Queen of Tex-Mex, Selena Quintanilla, who was murdered in 1995. After her untimely death, Quintanilla took a four-year hiatus from his career.

When he emerged in 1999, with newly formed band Kumbia Kings, it was clear that he was going to push the bar to a new level. Kumbia Kings erupted into the scene with a trademark style of fusing cumbia with rap. It was a hit. Was it any surprise? It was Quintanilla who was writing, co-writing and producing the music of Selena, an artist whose life story gave J.Lo her big break in the world of acting. (Jennifer Lopez portrayed her in the biographic movie Selena.) It was Quintanilla who had dedicated his life's work to creating hit songs.

When Quintanilla left Kumbia Kings in 2007 due to rumors of money mishandling and disagreements with bandmate Cruz Martinez, his fans were in shock. Martinez, who had been Quintanilla's righthand man since the group's inception, retained rights to the group name. This scandal caused great tension for Quintanilla and was the start of the legal battles to recover the Kumbia Kings. Those who followed Quintanilla's career were certain this was the beginning of something new. Others feared Quintanilla would walk away from it all. He didn't.

That same year, Quintanilla re-emerged as leader of his newly formed group, Kumbia All-Starz. Chris Perez, husband of the late Selena, joined the band. His fan base quickly followed suit. All these years, Quintanilla has consistently given his fans what they wanted to hear – a hit song. And although Quintanilla has recently won back the Kumbia Kings name, he's already proven that he doesn't need it.

What made the hit songs then is the same ingredient that makes the hit songs now: A.B. Quintanilla.

Kumbia All-Starz continues the theme of fusing cumbia and rap and then some. Quintanilla knows there is no limit to pushing that bar and shows us this when he performs alongside his group. With well-known hits like "Chiquilla" and their latest hit "Por Ti Baby" (featuring Flex), its no wonder that Quintanilla will be riding proudly into Sacramento.

Kumbia All-Starz will be performing this Sunday, July 26, in concert at the Empire Events Center, 1417 R St., Sacramento. It is the band's first appearance in Sacramento. Show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are $40. Normal dress code requirements are not enforced on concert nights, so come dressed comfortably and prepare to dance, dance, dance. The energy and sound that radiates when this group of ten are in a room will lift you to your feet before you can say "cu-cu[uuu]."

Photos courtesy of Quintanilla's MySpace page.

Third Saturday breathes fresh air into K Street

2009-07-20T04:51:56Z

The fliers and advertisements promised big things: “Local arts, crafts and fashion vendors will descend upon K Street, transforming downtown Sacramento into a bustling creative district.”

On Saturday, Sacramento News and Review hosted the inaugural Third Saturday Creative Block Party and nudged K Street in the right direction.

Despite the scorching heat, more than 40 aspiring clothing and jewelry designers, artists and local businesses set up shop along K Street.

“I think it’s wonderful of SN&R to have done this…it brings life to the downtown area. We’re so happy to be here,” said Ginger Wong, president of Transformations Makeup Institute, did makeup, hair and glitter tattoos.

Both aspiring and already-established local clothing and handbag designers like Meshugga Chic Vintage, Deranged Designs, Atelier and Fancy Foury Paws (for the four-legged) showed up and laid out their goods. While most outdoor festivals are cash-only, many of the booths made it convenient for card-holding customers to make purchases.

While the street fair was touted as being focused on primarily fashion and art, other businesses took the opportunity to get some attention as well. A Crocker Art Museum representatives handed out posters and brochures about their upcoming exhibits, and Sacramento-based Green Sol, which bottles water in biodegradable water bottles, helped people cool down with good-for-the-Earth water bottles.

Paul Imagine, widely known throughout Sacramento for his rock poster prints, was on hand to sell his colorful pieces and SN&R proudly displayed its local artist-designed newsstands as part of its “Newsstand Project.”

ICUP Comedy Troupe held an impromptu comedy skit performance in front of Pyramid Alehouse, a lone street performer played guitar and palm reader Linda Austin told fortunes along the closed-down streets.

In the center of all the action, a main stage in front of Temple coffeehouse featured performances by local bands Musical Charis, ZuhG and The Kinetics throughout the day. (link to their MySpace or websites)

“I’m really looking forward to the next one, and I think it will really liven up K Street,” said Sam Baldwin, a Midtown resident.

K Street businesses, which have suffered in the last few years, took advantage of increased foot traffic. The Crest Theatre promoted its current film series, “Trash Film Orgy” with a “Hot Zombie Chicks” table and art gallery Art ten20 opened its doors to anyone who cared to wander inside.

The party continued all the way to the end of K Street, with youth performance groups entertaining diners at Hard Rock Café from 3-6 p.m. on the restaurant's main stage.

There were groups of security guards and police officers on every corner, but they were not needed as the event was a peaceful gathering.

The Corona beer garden, sectioned off in front of Cosmo Cafe, was advertised as part of the “day party” to begin at 3 p.m. but remained desolate until a good couple of hours into the festival. As downtown’s night crowd poured into the Grid, the streets bustled with excitement into the evening.

Social Nightclub held the official after party for the event, which began at 8 p.m. and lasted until 2 a.m. with a discounted $3 cover before 10 p.m. The nightclub enjoyed a busy night and was almost packed to maximum capacity after the street fair ended.

Third Saturday was exactly the breath of fresh air that K Street has been needing. Cheers to Sacramento News and Review for an event well done and a hope for many more Third Saturdays,

Often pictures speak louder than words. Click HERE for pictures by Paula Aguirre from the Third Saturday Creative Block Party.

"HAIR" in Sacramento one night only

2009-07-16T06:36:07Z

Peace, love, war, sex and hair -- Sacramento will have a one-night opportunity to revel in hippie counterculture at Harlow's Thursday night. "HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" will rock the nightclub in the form of a concert.

Local theater company Artistic Differences will perform musical numbers from "HAIR" as part of the company's Summer of Rock series, which kicked-off with "Tommy" at the Crest on Memorial Day. Many of the original cast members from the company's five-week run of the show in 2007 will return to sing the numbers, accompanied by a seven-piece band.

"HAIR" the musical brings to light a group of young flower children who band together as a "tribe" in the East Village of New York City during the late '60s. The story develops when one of the members of the tribe receives a draft notice and is faced with the decision to serve or rebel.

Drawn into the hippie counterculture movement and inspired by anti-war protests, young actors Gerome Ragni and James Rado wrote "HAIR" over a span of three years and introduced it to the New York stage in 1967.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $15 in advance or for $20 at the door. To purchase tickets call 916-708-3449.

Summer of Rock will continue with a one-night concert featuring numbers from "Bare" on August 13 at Harlow's.

Images provided by Artistic Differences.

2nd Saturday weekend doesn't disappoint

2009-07-09T21:14:51Z

Ahhh, yes, it's that time of the month again folks. Second Saturday weekend that is! Although there are great things going on all month long throughout Sacramento, many locals will argue that the second weekend of the month in Sacramento is their favorite time to venture out on the town. In addition to the Art Walk on Saturday, this weekend has a plethora of cool things to check out. And for Sactown, mid-July is looking to bring us some relatively mild weather to boot! Take a look to see if any of these events can lure you to venture out...try something different this week!

Thursday 7.9

Food & Wine: California Grape & Gourmet -- $50 ($70 day of)
Where: Sacramento Convention Center
When: 5:30-8:30pm
Why: A charity event produced by the California State Fair to benefit the Friends of the California State Fair Scholarship Fund. This exquisite wine and food tasting event features more than 600 award winning wines and delicious food from nearly 90 of Northern California's best restaurants. Take home a commemorative wine glass and maybe even purchase some of the award winning wines! There will be also be live musical entertainment, an assortment of exceptional cheeses and award winning micro brews (Commercial Cheese and Commercial Craftbrew Competition winners) to enjoy. This is touted by many Sacramentans as “The Best Wine Event in Sacramento” as well it should be!
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Music/Nightlife: DJ Kaskade -- $17 (presale)
Where: The Park Ultralounge
When: 8pm
Why: If you missed him last time, you should really try to make this show. I am not much of an electronic music fan these days but Kaskade really knows how to mix some good music! He’s not your average DJ…
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Music: Beyonce -- $20.75+
Where: Arco Arena
When: 7:30pm
Why: She’s not the best paid celebrity in America under the age of 30 for nothing! Her big debut to fame was back in 1993 (!) with Destiny’s Child, but only after she broke away as a solo act did she really come out of her shell. She is now married to rap superstar Jay-Z and makes over $80 million a year! See what the hype is all about while she’s in town- you’re not likely to leave disappointed.
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Music/Nightlife: Cheese & Olive Oil Pairing -- $45
Where: Cest le Cheese
When: 6:30-8:30pm
Why: Decadent pairings inspired by ancient times. Explore the rich world of artisan cheeses paired with extra virgin olive oils. Laura Martinez, cheese and olive oil connoisseur and author, guides you through California's finest offerings while dipping into timeless and surprising food pairings. Perfectly accompanied by sparkling wine.
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Music/Museum: Night at the Museum featuring the Pyronauts -- $Free w/ admission ($8/7/4)
Where: California Auto Museum
When: 6-9pm
Why: Don’t miss your chance every Thursday during the summer to cruise down to the CA Auto Museum, enjoy the evening, & experience car culture as it comes alive! This Thursday enjoy live music from The Pyronauts, a local surf band who specializes in the sounds of Dick Dale and The Del Tones, The Surfaris, The Ventures and more! Take some time to browse around the museum’s current exhibit “Carved Elegance: Woodies, Wheels, and Waves” while you’re there.
Details: http://www.sacramento365.com/event/detail/39351

Friday 7.10

Music: Concert in the Park -- $Free
Where: Cesar Chavez Park
When: 5pm-9pm
Why: This week features Kate Gaffney & Boulevard Park along with West of Next, Christopher Fairman & The Stilts! If you live and Sacramento and have still not checked out a CIP, you are missing out! Its free family fun that the adults can enjoy too! Afterwards, don’t forget about the weekly concert crawl (Post Concert Specials!!): Show your concert wristband and receive specials at local bars and restaurants. Receive special happy hour deals on food and drinks when you ask for the Concert Crawl Deal.
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Music Festival: Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival --$
Where: Sleeptrain Amphitheatre
When: 2:15pm
Why: The most electrifying carnival to ever hit the summer concert circuit, is back…and bigger. MARILYN MANSON and SLAYER will top the bill on this year’s highly anticipated tour kicking off here in Sacramento! Featuring many of rock’s heaviest bands: Marilyn Manson and Slayer headline joined by Bullet for my Valentine and a special guest; also Trivium, All That Remains, God Forbid and the Jägermeister Battle of the Bands winner, Cannibal Corpse, Job for a Cowboy, Behemoth, Black Dahlia Murder and Whitechapel. In addition to catching a slew of “speaker-shredding performances”, play the newest video games, peruse vendors, attend autograph signing sessions and a host of other interactive activities that will add to the festival experience. Stage sponsor Jägermeister will be sampling their products and providing fun surprises for attendees.
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Special Event: News10 Blood Donor Day-- $Free
Where: News10 Studios
When: 6am & 7pm
Why: The summer months are a critical time for blood banks so we need everyone to be a hero and donate a life saving pint of blood. News10 Blood Donor Day with Delta Blood Bank is the perfect opportunity to do some good, and also have some fun!! Every donor will receive a free t-shirt, as well as a coupon for a pint of ice cream from Baskin Robbins!! In addition, you will also get a coupon for a free cherry limeade at Sonic!! Plus, you can get swabbed to be on the national marrow donor list and the swabbing fee will be waived for this one day only! Thank you for being a hero and helping us save lives. For more information, please visit news10.net.
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Film & Video: MOBS presents, Rock That Uke w/ Ukulele Loki's Gadabout Orchestra -- $5
Where: Guild Theatre (2828 35th Street)
When: Screenings, 7:00pm & 9:30pm; Performance, 8:00pm
Why: The screening of "Rock That Uke" will be accompanied by a live performance by Ukulele Loki's Gadabout Orchestra! Ukulele Loki's Gadabout Orchestra is a Denver based 6 piece chamber-pop band that features ukulele, tuba, trombone, clarinet, glockenspiel, drums, and synth. Additionally, the Director of the film- William Preston Robertson will be in attendance. Robertson has lent his voice to numerous Coen Brothers films and authored the definitive book on the Coen Brothers, "The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film!" Come see the movie at 7 and hang around for Ukulele Loki's performance at 8 PM, OR come to see Ukulele Loki at 8 PM and stay for the second screening. About the movie: “A funky, curiously philosophical cinematic love poem that examines the near mystical allure of the four-stringed underdog of the musical world and the recent surge of alternative, post-punk musicians on the American mainland who have taken up the instrument, and have incorporated the ukulele not just into their raucous and irreverent original compositions, but into a counter cultural, post-punk ethos.”
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Music: American Idols Live 2009 Tour -- $40.50+
Where: Arco Arena
When: 7pm
Why: Calling all American Idol fans!! It’s your chance to see your favorite “Idols” live and in person! Only featuring the top 10 contestants: Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud, Megan Joy, Michael Sarver and Scott MacIntyre, this is sure to be a great show. The phenomenon that American Idol has become is sure to be well received here in Sacramento.
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Saturday 7.11

Kids & Families: Downtown Kids Week -- $Various
Where: Saturday 7/11-Saturday 7/18
When: Various
Why: Families from around the region are invited to join in the fun of Downtown Sacramento’s first annual Downtown Kid’s Week. The Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP), California State Parks, local museums, theatres and restaurants have come together to make Sacramento’s central city the place to be this summer vacation by offering family-friendly events, activities, exhibits and special offers throughout the week.
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Art: Progeny Exhibit w/Artist Talk -- $FREE
Where: 40 Acres Art Gallery
When: 4pm-5pm (Artist talk)
Why: Progeny pairs Deborah Willis and her son, Hank Willis Thomas, in their first official collaboration. Willis is a photographer, educator and curator. Thomas has become known for his stinging critique of advertising and its impact on contemporary life. Consisting of photographs and video, the exhibit is a narrative of their family history, their developments as artists, and the fusion of the two. Exhibit previously shown at the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Florida and the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York. This will be an excellent opportunity to get the artists’ perspective before the exhibit opens July 14th.
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Music/Art: 2nd Saturday for Families: Gordy Ohliger, the Banjo-ologist -- $Free
Where: Crocker Art Museum
When: 12pm-3pm
Why: The Crocker aims to bring family fun events to the 2nd Saturday lineup! Banjo-ologist Gordy Ohliger will present a heritage you can hear with his movable museum of antique instruments. Toe-tapping, clap-along music, California paintings and hands-on art bring the early years of the Golden State to life. This is a limited seating event so reservations are required.
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Kids & Families: Butterfly Bash -- $6/5/4
Where: Discovery Museum Science & Space Center
When: 12:30pm-3pm
Why: The Discovery Museum hosts many fun and interactive exhibits for your little ones to enjoy. Have any fans at home of these mesmerizing winged insects? There is really no other insect that I can think of to hold such beauty as a butterfly. There will be cases of local & exotic butterflies on display to peruse. How many butterflies can you spot in our butterfly garden? Also, kids will be able to design their very own butterfly ring to wear.
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Film/Video: Esquire IMAX Theatre 10th Anniversary Celebration -- $Free
Where: Esquire IMAX Theatre
When: 10am-5pm
Why: To celebrate the Esquire IMAX Theatre’s 10th anniversary the public is invited to enjoy a free movie this Saturday! Beginning at 10:00 a.m., the Esquire IMAX Theatre will run eight free shows, up to 400 seats each, of the film Wild California! on the hour each hour. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Make sure to get there early!
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Food & Wine: Common Table: AgFest 2009-- $25-100
Where: Freemont Community Garden/Guild Theatre
When: Tours & workshops, 8:30am-3:00pm; Movie, 2:30pm & 4:00pm; Dinner, 5:30pm
Why: Brought to you by Slow Food Sacramento, Common Table is a day of tours and workshops culminating in a sit-down gourmet dinner in the Fremont Community Garden. Benefitting the Sacramento Hunger Coalition and the Sacramento Area Community Garden Coalition, the goal is to raise awareness about local urban gardening and food programs, as well as to advocate for improved city, county and state food policies that enable more locally grown foods in urban locations. The dinner of fresh, seasonal faire will be catered by Magpie Caters. Dinner speaker Braham Ahmadi of Peoples Grocery in Oakland will share his insights on Innovative Solutions for Food Justice. Additionally, the Avid Reader will be on hand selling a variety of books on gardening and the urban food movement, and a live auction will feature an array of culinary opportunities, including local gourmet restaurants that will offer private dinners, private gardening consultations and an opportunity to dine out with a prominent food critic Blair Anthony Robertson. During the day a variety of workshops will be held relating to community gardening, backyard organic gardening, composting, food gleaning and local food swap programs and a special showing of the movie "FRESH" will be showing at the Guild Theater. "FRESH" celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system.
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Classes & Workshops: Macrobiotics Wellness Class -- $20
Where: Arden Hills Resort & Spa
When: 10:30am
Why: Never heard of a macrobiotics diet before? It’s a low-fat, high fiber approach to foods designed for optimal health and longevity through nutrition. Don’t miss this special “Macrobiotics” class to learn how a simple diet rich in whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, vegetables and soy products might be the right approach to improve your diet and overall well being for a longer, more healthful life. We can all use a little dose of healthy habits right?
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Sunday 7.12

Kids & Families: Sacramento Street Scenes -- $Free
Where: Old Sacramento
When: 10am-6pm (Every Sat & Sun through August)
Why: The Historic Old Sacramento Foundation in collaboration with the City of Sacramento is proud to introduce a new Street Scene Program beginning this month. Calling upon the talents of musicians, jugglers, storytellers, re-enactors, volunteer fire fighters, artisans, and even some burros, Old Sacramento will offer free, family-friendly and historically educational entertainment every Saturday and Sunday June through August. This Sunday there will be Storytelling, Children's Games, Bowling- Gold Rush Style, Juggling, & Shootouts!
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Special Event: Antique Fair -- $3 Adults/ Children Free
Where: X & 21Sreets
When: 6:30am-3pm
Why: An Outdoor Antique and Collectible Marketplace held the 2nd Sunday of every month!! Hundreds of antique dealers from throughout Northern California selling furniture, textiles, architectural pieces, jewelry, cultural pieces, china and glassware, garden accessories, rugs, art and collectibles of all kinds will be on hand with their quality goods. Browse around and who knows what sorts of treasures you’ll find!
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Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing~ Sacramento Shakespeare Festival -- $18 General/15 Students
Where: William Land Park
When: Doors: 6:30pm; Curtain: 8pm
Why: This is the 24th season of the Shakespeare Festival in Sacramento! Its recommended that you buy your tickets online to avoid the ticket line. Plus, get free parking by showing your printout to the parking attendant. Don’t hesitate to bring a picnic, low lawn chairs and a blanket and enjoy Shakespeare under the stars!
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Also, if you want to mention an event that I didn't squeeze into this little article- add it to the comments below! Have a great weekend!!

Lots of free (and cheap) events this Weekend!!

2009-06-17T23:55:20Z

It has never occurred to me that Father's Day weekend always happens at the same time as the summer solstice. Is that by coincidence? The longest, sunniest day of the year falls on the weekend that we celebrate our Dad's. That's kind of cool! At least for those of us who celebrate them. Otherwise, think of it as an extended day for you to be having fun! This weekend is packed with family friendly events for the whole family to enjoy at budget friendly prices. There are a few things I've mentioned that are a little more pricey... but they sound so fun! Whatever your budget is and whomever you'd like to spend your time with, check out what this weekend has in store.

Thursday 6.18

Class: Small Business Forum: Going Green -- $FREE
Where: SHCC Offices (1491 River Park Dr)
When: 9am
Why: Every month a different topic is featured in these workshops. From accounting practices, legal issues, buying new technology and creating a business plan—they’ll teach you all you need to know to be more efficient in your business. This month will focus on the latest trend in business…Going Green. It won’t cost you any green to come so check it out!
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Food & Wine: Wild West Cheese Adventure -- $45
Where: C’est le Cheese (Penthouses at Capitol Park)
When: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Why: “Artisan cheese makers are pushing the frontiers of flavor into an entirely new world by using the sweetest, creamiest milk from locally raised cows, goats and sheep to create an exquisite array of stupendous artisan cheese. Join Laura Martinez, author of "The Everything Cheese Book", in a tasting adventure of these wild and wooly cheese creations paired with wine and beer from pioneering vintners and brewers. This class is guaranteed to transport you to the best of the Wild West!”~ C’est le Cheese
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Music: Third Thursday Jazz Summer Concert Series -- $10 (FREE to Crocker Members)
Where: CSUS Capistrano Hall
When: 5:30pm-8pm
Why: The Garrett Perkins Project will entertain with their versatile range of Jazz from bebop to modern contemporary jazz. The Garrett Perkins Project is dedicated to promoting music that is at once educational and entertaining. Garrett has had a Quartet since the age of fifteen as an avenue for playing his beloved alto saxophone.
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Friday 6.19

Festival: Sacramento French Film Festival—Opening Night -- $10/ $9 students (single ticket)
Where: Crest Theatre
When: 6pm (Movie at 8:30pm) ***The festival runs through Sunday, June 28th***
Why: Opening night and reception! You cannot see the film tonight without going to the reception. Enjoy an open wine bar and catered hors d’oeuvres by local restaurants and music by DJ Christophe. The Sacramento French Film Festival is an annual event held in July. It celebrates the present as well as the rich history of French cinema featuring new releases and rarely seen classics. It is the only festival dedicated to French cinema in Northern California and one of only two on the West coast. The Sacramento Bee described the Festival as “the Cinematic Highlight of Sacramento's Summer”. All of the films are in French with English subtitles. (Psst! Check out the website for more fun events like the fashion show on Saturday the 21st!!)
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Festival: All American Tattoo Festival--$15 at the door/$30 for the weekend
Where: Sacramento Convention Center
When: 2pm-11pm (also Saturday, 11am-11pm & Sunday, 11am-7pm)
Why: Tattoo lovers unite! Tell all your ink loving friends to come over to the CC this weekend. There will be tattoo contests for prizes in addition to the artwork and music. Whether you’re a seasoned (or should I say fully decorated) tattoo lover or a novice, this is the place to find what you’re looking for. Even if you’re not much of a tattoo fan, you got to come if only to see George the Giant. He is himself a complete sideshow performance- known for his fire breathing, sword swallowing, glass walking stunts and many more, he is sure to entertain! Plus...the world wide debut of SHIGE a book by Horitaka from the Yellow Blaze Tattoo Studio in Japan.
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Kids & Families: Wet 'n Wild Family Night @ the Y! -- FREE
Where: Sacramento YMCA
When: 6pm-8pm
Why: Join the Sacramento Area YMCA for a free Wet n' Wild Family Night with musical guests, Prima! Bring your swimsuit, flip-flops & towel, there will be plenty of wet n' wild games including a fundraiser dunk tank! This is a free community event where everyone is welcome so don't forget to tell your family & friends! Jamba Juice and Yogurtagogo will also be on hand selling their tasty juices and yogurt to help beat the heat!
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Kids & Families: Disney Train Comes to Sacramento! -- $FREE
Where: California State Railroad Museum
When: 9am-7pm (also Saturday, 9am-7pm & Sunday, 9am-4pm)
Why: Bring your family and friends to Old Sacramento to see the Disney Train on the tracks near the California State Railroad Museum. Disney is pulling out all the whistle stops and taking its show on the road with a spectacular immersive and interactive 40-city train tour, including a 3D sneak peek of film footage from the upcoming movie “Disney’s A Christmas Carol.” Enjoy a snowy backdrop in June in Old Sacramento, complete with all of the sights and sounds of Christmas including carolers, decorations, giveaways and many more surprises. This Disney family event is for guests of all ages and is free to the public. Starring Jim Carrey and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” opens in theatres November 6 in Disney Digital 3D and in IMAX 3D.
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Music: A Classic Rock Tribute with “ATB” -- $
Where: Double Tree Hotel
When: 8:30pm-11pm
Why: After the Beatles, music has never been the same. Or so believes ATB, which stands for After The Beatles. They are a classic rock tribute band keeping the Beatles alive by playing the music that the Beatles made, after the Beatles.
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Music: Les Claypool -- $25 adv/ $30 at door
Where: Radisson Hotel
When: 7:30pm
Why: Legendary Bassist from the popular band Primus. Back in their heyday (aka the 90’s), Les was recognized for his inventive, funky style. Advance tickets can be purchased at any Dimple Records store, The Beat and R5 Records.
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Saturday 6.20

Art: Stellar Studios’ Summer Solstice -- $FREE
Where: Stellar Studios (23rd & C St.)
When: 5pm-12am
Why: Celebrate Summer Solstice and support some local artists while you’re at it! Stellar will be featuring new work in glass, ceramics, metal & mixed media from all local artists. Get a glimpse into the future of art spaces. Also, it’s a great excuse to peruse and shop around with music & fire to compliment the atmosphere on the longest day of the year.
Details: http://sacramento365.com/event/detail/38873

Art/Class: Figure Drawing Marathon for Adults -- $65 ($45 for Crocker Members)
Where: Crocker Art Museum
When: 10:30am-4:30pm
Why: Back by popular demand! This workshop is for beginners and advanced students looking to learn or improve drawing skills. Draw from nude models while exploring the figure through warm-up exercises, gesture drawings and long poses. Note that this is an adult class! You must be 18 years or older. Drawing materials will be provided. Make sure you call to reserve your spot because reservations are required.
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Festival: 8th Annual Juneteenth Festival-- $FREE
Where: William Land Park
When: 11am-6pm (also Sunday, 11am-5pm)
Why: A Celebration of Freedom and the Emancipation Proclamation. What a way we’ve come! This is a two-day event featuring two stages of live musical entertainment, vendors, children's activities, spelling bee, fishing derby, The Juneteenth Educational Theater, essay/poster contests, theater, cultural dance performances, and more on Saturday! The Juneteenth Talent Show is probably the highlight of the event where local aspiring talent takes a stab at the stage. Nearly 8,000 people attend Juneteenth annually. On Sunday check out the 3rd annual Juneteenth Golf Tournament, the Juneteenth Gospel Extravaganza featuring Sacramento’s best gospel artists, food/ware vendors, and all kinds of children’s’ activities. Be there!
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Fundraiser: Round ‘em Up Barbeque -- $10 adults/ $5 kids
Where: Swanston Park
When: 3pm
Why: Grab the kids and head to the park for a family friendly BBQ! The Sacramento Children's Chorus will be performing an informal concert for entertainment. All of the proceeds for this event benefit the Sacramento Children’s Chorus. With all of the funding cuts happening with children’s programs, makes sense to support them in family fun ways such as these…
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Music: Pops in the Park Concert Series -- $FREE
Where: Bertha Henschel Park
When: 6pm-10pm
Why: This week is featuring the George Bruno Big Band. I don’t know much about the band- and couldn’t find any information on them other than they play at all kinds of family friendly events- but I do know that the Pops in The park Concerts are a great night out for families. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and picnic baskets and prepare to have some fun!
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Sunday 6.21 (Dad’s Day!)

Film: IMAX Father’s Day Package -- $Varies
Where: Esquire IMAX Theatre
When: 11am, 12:15, 1:15, 2:15 (Start Times)
Why: Take your Dad to see an IMAX show this weekend- or dad’s, take your kids out and save. In addition to the Stimulus Deal IMAX has been promoting, this Sunday Dad’s get in Free! You still need the receipt from a restaurant though. So the Stimulus Package Deal goes like this: Visit any Downtown/Midtown Sacramento Restaurant and spend $20…then bring your receipt to the Esquire IMAX Theatre and purchase any ticket to see Dinosaurs Alive 3D, Under The Sea 3D or African Adventure 3D for $5 or get a $5 discount off the full price admission ticket to Monsters vs. Aliens 3D, Star Trek, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. (Subject to availability) Up to 4 Tickets can be purchased with receipt.
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Music: Father’s Day BBQ Train -- $49 Adults/ $25 Kids (plus taxes & Service charge)
Where: Sacramento River Train
When: 11am
Why: Why not? When’s the last time you rode the train? This 3.5-hour trip includes a 28-mile train ride with a stop for a barbecue lunch at Elkhorn Park. The Sacramento River Train, which has three open-air cars and three enclosed air-conditioned coaches, operates between Woodland and West Sacramento.
Details

Keep in mind that all of these events and many more can can be found on Sacramento365.com, the year-round source for Sacramento events. If you have an event you would like to add to Sacramento365.com, visit the website. Its easy and free to add your events! Also, if you want to mention an event that I didn't squeeze into my little article- add it to the comments below! Have a great weekend!!

Crazy "cool" events this weekend!!

2009-06-04T22:47:02Z

I can honestly say that I am proud to be a Sacramentan. Even more so since I began working on the events calendar for Sacramento at the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau! I have pretty much lived in the Sacramento area my whole life and never before did I realize that there are so many things going on- all the time! This weekend is packed full of Festivals, fundraisers, music & theatre and hopefully by reading this you are prompted to get out and have some fun! And please do note that there are many more things happening that I may not have mentioned...in order to keep these articles concise, I narrow them down to a few events. Feel free to add events in the Comment section at the bottom of the page if you would like to mention one I didn't add. Happy galavanting...

Thursday 6.4

Comedy: Paul Mecurio w/ Jason Downs & Laura Rosenberg -- $6/$4/$3
Where: Punch Line Comedy Club
When: 8:30pm (Showing thru June 7th-also @ 10:00pm Sat&Sun)
Why: He was a writer for the Daily Show with John Stewart. Not sure if he really needs more credits but heres a few others: Comedy Central Presents, The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn, Late Night w/Conan O’Brien, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Dr. Katz, NBC’s Late Friday…must be a pretty funny guy!
Details

Art: Sew What? Fashion Show--
Where: Social Nightclub
When: 7pm
Why: Local fashion from Gianna Couture, Marianno Ratto, Stephanie Lozano & more! Hair will be done by Suede Salon.
Details

Theatre: Hedwig and the Angry Inch -- $18-25
Where: Artisan Theatre
When: 8:00pm (Showing thru June 27th)
Why: This is New Helvetia Theatre Company’s first production at the beautiful Artisan Gallery on Del Paso Blvd. New Helvetia is rethinking theatre in Sacramento. Their goal is to “rediscover forgotten gems of the American Musical while re-examining classic musicals and plays”. Directed by Matthew Schneider, Hedwig is about a fictional rock and roll band fronted by an East German transgendered singer. This musical has become somewhat of a cult classic similar to The Rocky Horror Picture Show with a devoted following.
Details

Friday 6.5

Food & Wine: 7th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge--$50 advance/$60 at the door
Where: California Auto Museum (formerly Towe)
When: 5:30-9:30
Why: Ladies & Gentlemen start your engines & drive on down to the 2009 Celebrity Chef Challenge!! Ride along side event emcees Edie Lambert of KCRA Channel 3 & Dennis Mangers of Darrell Steinberg's Office & your favorite local chefs as they whisk past the competition at the 7th annual Celebrity Chef Challenge.
Competitors will have 45 minutes to turn 5 secret ingredients into 3 power packed dishes right in front of your eyes!!! Fans will be treated to a VIP Food Show, Hosted Beer and Wine, Silent Auction, Raffle & 72,000 square feet of automotive excellence! And the Celebrity Judges are...Guy Farris & Melissa Crowley of Sacramento & Co. & Former State Assembly member Lloyd Levine, New This Year!!!
The finest culinary competition on the West Coast just got a little finer with the addition of the 1st Annual InAlliance Car Show that welcomes all makes and models!
Details

Music: Bucho! at Concert in the Park-- Free
Where: Cesar Chavez Park
When: 5pm-9pm
Why: Free music and family fun! In addition to Bucho, Righteous Movement & Happy Mayfield will be there too. Get there early and bring a blanket to check out the show. The beer garden gets really packed after awhile so its best to get there early- buy two while you’re at it to make it last longer. I haven’t tried the food but there are a bunch of options for eats if you’re hungry too. Afterward, your bracelet can score you discounts a local restaurants and bars.
Details

Music: Freekbass-- $15
Where: Marilyn’s on K (St)
When: 9:00pm
Why: The guys name is really Freekbass. Or at least that’s what he goes by. He studied bass at Cincinnati's School for the Creative and Performing Arts and never looked back. Influenced by the likes of Larry Graham, Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, Parliament and Bootsy, you may expect this show to have some funk! Along with Freekbass the band consists of a guitarist, drummer and turntablist. Sounds like a show!
Details

Saturday 6.6

Food & Wine: 7th Annual Raley’s Grape Escape -- $40 advance/$50 day of
Where: Cesar Chavez Plaza
When: 4pm-7pm
Why: If you like to mingle with friends and meet new ones while sipping on wines and tasting delicious food from local restaurants all while enjoying the sounds of live Jazz…you gotta check this event out! Over 60 wineries (= 200+wines!) and 40+ restaurants will be serving up tastes of their yummy goods for you to enjoy. There’s also a “Chef's Challenge” presented by the Institute of Technology where 4 local chef’s will compete in two rounds to win. They get 25 minutes and a market basket of fresh produce and a cut of meat to come up with the winning recipe.
Details

Festival: Sierra Stampede Rodeo & Festival -- $10 ($25 for weekend pass)
Where: Central Park Horse Arena
When: 8am (Sat & Sun)
Why: If you've never been to a gay rodeo before, you don't want to miss Steer Deco, Goat Dressing or Wild Drag Race…this amateur rodeo attracts cowboys & cowgirls from across the United States! There'll be horse events, roping, steers, and bulls. The Festival's vendor area will include a beer garden, entertainment food & goodies for sale. Rodeo proceeds benefit Saddle Pals, a division of United Cerebral Palsy that uses horses for therapy. This event is brought to Sacramento and produced by Capital Crossroads Gay Rodeo Association. In addition to the rodeo, there will be kickoff events Thursday & Friday nights and afterparties both Sat & Sunday- A whole weekend of same-sex fun!
Details

Music: Jackie Greene in Concert-- $25 advance/$30 at door (subject to availability)
Where: Fairytale town
When: 6pm-10pm
Why: In celebration of Fairytale Towns 50th Anniversary of bringing “musical merriment” and wholesome family fun to Sacramento Jackie Greene and AKALive will be playing on the Mother Goose Stage. Your ticket is for the music only, however, there will be food & drinks available for purchase. This is a great night to bring the kids out- fun for the whole family! Kids can play and adults can enjoy some great music at the same time.
Details

Family: Pops in The Park Concert Series Kickoff-- $Free
Where: East Portal Park
When: 6pm
Why: The Q-Balls will be entertaining the friends & families out this week at East Portal Park. This six man band plays covers of music from the 60’s-80’s- fun, upbeat music great for both kids & adults. Deidre Fitzpatrick from KCRA3 will be the emcee. More than just a fun night out, Pops in the Park raises money for our under-funded neighborhood parks. Since 1995, proceeds from sponsorship, advertising, as well as the food & beverages sales during the events have been used to enhance our neighborhood parks, bring improvements to the neighborhood, provide youth athletic scholarships and make these events possible. Feel free to bring your own food & drink but do know that if you buy there, your money spent is going to a good cause.
Details

Sunday 6.7

Festival: Fiesta Filipino & Health Fair -- $Free
Where: Jose Rizal Community Center
When: 10am-5pm
Why: The Fiesta Filipino is an annual free event that attracts up to 6,000 people from all over Sacramento and surrounding counties. The event features all-day entertainment, food vendors, arts & crafts, local businesses, career fair and a health fair. Community-based health organizations participate in the health fair and offer various health services to the fair-goers for free.
Details: http://www.sacramento365.com/event/detail/38063

Music: Sunday Jazz Concerts in the Park -- $Free
Where: Grant Park
When: 6pm-8pm
Why: The sounds of Jazz are magical in the summer, especially when they are paired with Sacramento's beautiful parks! These concerts are brought to you by the Traditional Jazz Society of Sacramento and will be held at various parks located throughout Sacramento. Each concert will offer the community a chance to come together and listen to a musical form steeped in history and feature some of the best Jazz for miles. All entertainment is courtesy of the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, with children's activities provided by the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Details

Festival: Nike Women's Fitness Festival-- $35
Where: CA State Capitol Park
When: 8am~3pm
Why: Ladies only! This is the largest women’s only event in the region. My understanding is that men can participate, they just can’t compete. So fair game ladies! This event is designed to promote women's fitness and health, along with raising money for critical programs for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. There will be a timed-run for women and a non-timed run/walk for teams and families. Following the races, participants are welcome to listen to live music, visit booths that include salon services, check out the Nike expo, loosen your muscles with message therapists and much more!
Details

Sports&Rec: World Extreme Cagefighting-- $42.50+
Where: Arco Arena
When: 3pm
Why: Sacramento’s very own Urijah Faber, from Ultimate Fitness downtown, is going up against featherweight champion Mike Brown for the title. This is a rematch of their previous clash in 2008. Many claim this fight to be the most anticipated fight in WEC history. I am not much of a fight watcher (I’m a lover! Not a hater…) but I am a big supporter of local people doing big things. Urijah has really made a name for himself in the world of Cagefighting and is known around the world for his lighting-fast hand speed & strong takedowns. Good thing you don’t have to be tall for this sport!
Details

Keep in mind that all of these events and many more can can be found on Sacramento365.com, the year-round source for Sacramento events.

Midfest is a go

2009-05-30T01:27:05Z

Midfest is happening this weekend after organizers won two permits early Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the event is scheduled to begin.

But Sacramento city staff notified organizers that city employees will be on the lookout for code violations after neighborhood residents complained that a previous event wasn't adequately managed.

The Bloc Concert Series permit was awarded to Paragary Restaurant Group for the festivities being held in Marshall Park, 915 27th St., from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday. A separate permit was issued to the Midtown Business Association (MBA) and T & M Organization for the Arts for Sunday's Midfest Summer Celebration at the park.

In the final hours before permits were handed out, the city's Department of Parks and Recreation held a meeting with organizers to spell out "in no uncertain terms" the regulations and requirements organizers must meet during the festival, said Alan Tomiyama, recreation manager of the department's Community Recreation Services Division.

"If the permittee violates the terms of the permit, the city has absolute authority to shut an event down," he said, adding that organizers will be given one chance to fix a problem on the spo. "Immediately. If they don't, we'll shut them down."

The permits allow the main stage and a VIP tent to be set up next to 28th Street at the alley -- close to 28th Street residences -- and the beer truck and beer garden to be set up on the closed half-block of 28th Street adjacent to Paragary's Centro Cocina Mexicana.

That way, stage speakers face south, away from residential areas, and the noise level can be further dampened by event and traffic noise, said Hindolo Brima, spokesperson for the city Department of Parks and Recreation. That setup also funnels the concert crowd into the south half of the park near businesses.

Permit requirements include:

-- K Permit parking only from 6 a.m. Saturday to 9 p.m. Sunday on I and H streets between 26th and 29th streets; 26th and 27th streets between J and G streets; and 28th Street between I and G streets. Violators will be towed, according to the permit.

-- 28th Street will be closed from J Street to the alley for a beer truck and beer garden.

-- A "reasonable" amplified sound level will be determined by the city's Special Events Services staff the day of the event, metered by police and ended by 8 p.m. However, the permit includes the city code's 98-decibel level for amplified sound being held on a street or sidewalk, rather than the section of code saying amplified sound in a park can't exceed 86 decibels 25 feet from the source, or 55 decibels on any residential property.

-- The Fire Department will set the occupancy load for the beer garden. Alcohol can't be sold after 7:30 p.m.

-- Seven Sacramento police officers, including a sergeant, and at least five private security guards must be hired for the event.

-- Debris and trash must be removed immediately after events on each day.

In recent weeks, the Department of Parks and Recreation pulled together the agencies that need to be involved in enforcing city regulations at the event to coordinate actions that will be taken to address potential problems this weekend, Tomiyama said.

The concerns brought up by residents living next to the park or nearby have never come up with other special events in more than a decade, he said. The park appears to be unique in the central city because it's lined with businesses and busy J Street on its south end but residential neighborhoods on three sides.

Sacramento's central core has undergone much development in the last five years -- including the addition of new bars and restaurants joining stalwarts Centro and Harlow's on J Street facing Marshall Park. Parks department staffers say they're trying to help find a balance with special events to meet the needs of businesses and residents, including Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association members.

Although it's never happened before, the city is considering those neighbors' request to be included in the permit application process for special events in the area.

"If there needs to be improvement, if there needs to be adjustments, we will do that," Tomiyama said. "At least, we will take a hard look at it."

The city has not awarded permits for any more last Saturday concerts planned for the Bloc Concert Series. The city will evaluate how things go this weekend and base permit decisions on that, he said.

Sol'Jibe brings international music to Harlows tonight

2009-05-28T17:21:27Z

Relentless, dedicated, original and professional are a few words that describe the band called Sol’Jibe. With more than 200 shows and festivals under their belts world-wide, they bring their unique flavor of international music to Harlows; a show that will sure to be talked about all summer.

After driving 15 hours straight from their last show in Washington, they arrived last night in Sacramento where we met for dinner at Aura for some tasty pizzas. There’s a reason they’ve been called the hardest working band around. They’ve won “Best Band in the Reno News & Review Reader’s Choice” three years in a row. Last year, they stole the show at the High Sierra Music Festival with a review stating…

“"Sol Jibe proved itself one of the hardest working and most delightful new finds at the fest by lending it's world beats and Latin rhythms to two different stages during the course of the day, winning new fans every time it played."

- Honest Tune: The American Journal of Jam & Roots

Having played and studied in such countries as Cuba, Spain and Mexico, Sol’Jibe truly is a band that fuses sounds and styles from around the globe.

Formed by frontman Tim Snyder (lead vocals, violin, guitar, songwriter) who upon returning from his trip studying music in Spain in 2002, was inspired to develop his hand-picked band, which he poached from his alma-mater, the Jazz Department at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Sol’Jibe has supported acts including Michael Franti (Spearhead), Robert Randolph, the legendary Steel Pulse, Charlie Hunter Trio, Michael McDonald, Eric McFadden and more.

“The whole reason you perform and keep performing is to change and evolve. This new album is exciting for anybody that’s been part of the Sol’Jibe family for so many years.”

- Justin Kruger (percussion)

Festivals they have played include:

- Joshua Tree Music Festival (08’)
- Earthdance Northern California (08’)
- Seattle Hempfest (08’)
- Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival (08’)
- Lightning In A Bottle (08’)
- Moscow Mardi Gras (08’)
- High Sierra Music Fest (07’ - 08’)
- Yaak Wilderness Festival (07’ - 08’)
- MT Performing Arts Consortium (07’)
- Babb Fest & Portland Pirate Festival (07’)
- BSU Spring Fling (07’)+
- Jazz & Beyond Festival (07’)
- Moscow Renaissance Fair (07’)
- Jerry Fest (06’ - 07’)
- ArtsNW Booking Conference (06’)
- Sundance Film Festival (05’ - 06’)

The Oregonian said of Sol'Jibe:

"Sol'Jibe -- Take Rusted Root, Santana and Phish, add a dash of flamenco music and a smidgen of jazz, bake in a Spanish adobe kiln, and this band's music will come out. Piping hot. These guys are working to redefine the very nomenclature of a 'jam band.'"

If one was pressed to say whom they sounded like, it wouldn't be a bad guess to state, Dave Matthews Band vs. Gypsy Kings.

Sol’Jibe will be joined by The Nibblers (Hans Eberbach formerly on label with Sweetvibe at Atlantic Records) and Private Criminals, whom hail from the Foothills and play shows around the North Shore, Lake Tahoe.

If Sol’Jibe can drive 15 hours through three states in one day to perform in Sacramento, local music lovers should return the favor by spreading the word.

The first 15 bicyclists will get in free. Bring 3 friends and the fourth gets in free.
Between sets, bicycle certificates and gear will be given away including one year memberships to The Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen, College Cyclery and free rentals at Bites and Bikes.

21+ with ID, $10 per person. Tickets available online at harlows.com

More info at Sacvibe.com

Music of Sol'Jibe: myspace.com/soljibe

Santigold brings unique international freak dub style to Sacramento

2009-04-30T20:42:38Z

Santigold is a self-professed non-person. Rather, Santigold (born Santi White) is a musical collective whose front woman can be described as one of the most fun and serious artists today. The poignant and righteous lyrics are blended so sexily, super freaks around the globe from Michael Jackson to Libyan ruler Moammar Qaddafi are known to have even downloaded Santigold's music as leaks (probably bit torrents) before they were even published in 2008.

A relatively unknown artist until about 2007, Santogold changed her name to Santigold in 2008 (Santogold was taken already by a third rate B move wanna-be movie producer/singer) and went on to tour and or play with Bjork, Coldplay, Kanye West, Jay-Z and even the Beastie Boys.

She's made waves in the biggest music magaznes around the world from Rolling Stone to BBC and is in heavy rotation at night clubs in some of the most dangerous countries in the world inlcuding Beruit and Afghanistan. Even more interesting is that Sanitgold is apparently a popular act on the MIR International Space Station. Now let's take it even further. Some 3,000 miles away in Cape Hope, she broadcast a live simulcast to Fort Leavenworth (Kansas) where prisoners were reported to have celebrated with confetti.

White has been compared to and written about in music magazines as R&B and Hip Hop. She agrily rebukes those comparisons stating that critics and online music vendors make those comparisons because she is black, saying that that was racist.

"Everyone is just so shocked that I don't like R&B. Are you shocked that Good Charlotte isn't into R&B? Why does R&B keep coming into my interviews? It's pissing me off. I didn't grow up as a big fan of R&B and, like, what is the big shocker? It's stupid."

From Myspace/santigold -

Composed of absolutely no members, Santigold is also the first musical outfit capable of claiming the planet’s broiling collective consciousness as their front woman. Longtime collaborator, singer and songwriter Santi White says of her work with Santigold, “We began trying to write pop songs to sell, which made us depressed, so we started writing songs for ourselves instead.” The results of that self centered conceit is the songwriting work heard for the first time on the full length self-titled Santigold album, released in 2008 on Downtown/Lizard King (US) and Atlantic (UK).

As unmastered tracks leaked over the internet this past November, the request lines of radio stations from Miami to Hanoi began freezing with a flood of calls from listeners eager to hear the new Santigold sound over their frequencies. From his radio show in the United Arab Emirates capital city of Abu Dhabi, Michael Jackson (the King of Pop) played what Santigold snippets he had been able to pirate from a bootleg MySpace page dedicated to the group. Days later, BBC Radio One reported that the unreleased Santigold debut was heard blasting from the iPod shuffle of Libyan ruler Moammar Qaddafi as he entered an international summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Recognizing the urgent need to address the uproarious buzz, Santigold released the following statement through their label reps : “The response to our unmastered songs has been both premature and phenomenal! We were happy to hear that the children of Darfur have found hope in our melodic interpretation of life on the battlefield of love! We’re hoping that each and every 20-something from downtown San Francisco to central Mumbai will also learn something from our work! And to the people dropping no-knock fire on old ladies in Atlanta: shame on you! Santigold ain’t with that shit!”

Last week, Santigold was announced in the lineup for Lallapalooza in Chicago later this summer playing alongside such notables as Janes Addiction, Depeche Mode, Tool, Beastie Boys and TV on the Radio.

Santigold performs in San Francisco on May 21 and at Empire Events Center in Sacramento on May 22.

On May 1, Santigold will perform at a $100 per person, invite only show in New York to raise money for The Art of Elysium, a non-profit organization founded in 1997, encourages working actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serious medical conditions. They provide artistic workshops in the following disciplines: acting, art, comedy, fashion, music, radio, songwriting and creative writing. The Brooklyn Vegan published a story saying that a live stream will be fed online. You can check it out on May 1 at www.thegreenespace.org/thegreenespace/

For more information on this and dozens of other shows, visit Sacvibe.com/concerts

Santigold - 2009 Tour Dates
May 21 The Warfield San Francisco, California #
May 22 Empire Sacramento, California #
May 24 Cuthbert Amphitheatre Eugene, Oregon
May 25 Sasquatch! Festival @ The Gorge George, Washington
May 28 First Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota #
May 29 Peoples Court Des Moines, Iowa #
May 31 Rams Head Live Baltimore, Maryland #
Jun 1 House of Blues Boston, Massachusetts #
Jun 3 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, Ontario #
Jun 4 Metropolis Montreal, Quebec #
Jun 6 The Roots Picnic @ Festival Pier Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jun 7 The Norva Norfolk, Virginia #
Jun 9 Terminal 5 New York, New York #
Jun 10 9:30 Club Washington DC, Washington DC #
Jun 12 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Manchester, Tennessee
Jun 13 Barcardi B Live @ The Pageant St. Louis, Missouri #
Jun 15 Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater Austin, Texas #
Jun 17 House of Blues Houston, Texas #
Jun 18 House of Blues Dallas, Texas #
Jun 20 Rialto Theatre Tucson, Arizona #
Jun 21 Hollywood Bowl / KCRW World Festival Series Hollywood, California
Jul 4 Oslo Live Oslo
Jul 5 Heineken Open Air Festival Gdynia
Jul 7 Elysee Monmartre (Headline Show) Paris
Jul 10 Splash Halbinsel Pouch Leipzig
Jul 11 Traffic Festival Turin
Jul 13 ROXY Event @ France Viux Plage Biarritz
Jul 15 5 Days Off @ Paradiso Amsterdam
Jul 18 Garden NEF Angoulême
Jul 24 Beat Festival St Poelten
Jul 27 Central Station (Headline Show) Darmstadt
Jul 29 Grosse Freiheit (Headline Show) Hamburg
Jul 30 Live Music Hall (Headline Show) Cologne
Aug 1 Field Day London
Aug 2 Underage Festival London
Aug 7 Lollapalooza Chicago, Illinois
# w/ Amanda Blank and Trouble Andrew

This week's slew of music, festivals, classes & comedy

2009-04-29T00:51:55Z

Spring is almost over and so begins the onslaught of fun, fabulous things to do during the summer months in Sacramento! It's not quite time to break out the bikinis and flip-flops, but I have spotted some sleeveless tops and open-toed shoes lately...my all-time favorite season in Sacramento is almost here! This week, and particularly this week-end, is already jam-packed with music, festivals and outdoor events with the promise of the heat soon to come. I hope you haven't made plans already...

Tuesday 4.28

Music: Rev Theory-- $12 at the door
Where: Marilyn’s on K
When: Doors- 6:30pm, Show- 7:15pm
Why: You may get an idea for their music-style by the bands they’ve opened for: the likes of Evanescence, Papa Roach, Buck Cherry and Saliva to name a few. Supporting bands for the night include: Divide The Day, Trackfighter, Man Automatic. Four bands for $12 bucks- that's $3 a band!
Info: (916) 273-3269

Wednesday 4.29

Comedy: Norm MacDonald-- $$?
Where: Punchline Comedy Club (Howe & Arden)
When: Doors- 6:30pm; Show- 7:30pm
Why: He continues to regularly tour the country performing his popular stand-up comedy, however, he is perhaps best known for his offbeat delivery of "the fake news" on "Saturday Night Live" for five seasons. Norm MacDonald continues to be a major comedic presence. His totally hilarious impersonations of Bob Dole and Burt Reynolds on “SNL,” were my favorites. However, MacDonald proved that his wit and writing were not to just for small screen. Among others, MacDonald played roles in Billy Madison with Adam Sandler, The People Vs. Larry Flint and the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon.
Info: Tickets

Music: Mary Mary-- $40/30 in advance, $45/35 day of show
Where: Crest Theatre (10th & K)
When: Doors- 7pm, Show- 8pm
Why: Urban gospel superstars Mary Mary like to do everything on a big scale. All of their pursuits- musical, spiritual, or otherwise-are larger-than-life: not a single thing is left to chance. Their latest disc melds the twosome's love of truth-grounded gospel music beautifully woven with a colorful patchwork of R&B, pop, soul, jazz, electronic music, and then some.
Info: The Crest Calendar

Thursday 4.30

Music: Tony! Toni! Tone!-- $20
Where: Avalon Nightclub (805 15th Street)
When: 9pm-2am
Why: Attention all children of the late 80’s-early 90’s! If you didn’t listen to Tony! Toni! Tone! when you were growing up, you probably didn’t listen to music. With hits like "It Never Rains in Southern California", these guys had us all saying ”It Feels Good.”
Info: (916) 670-5944

Sports & Recreation: Fight Night Boxing-- $20-$100
Where: Arco Arena (1 Sports Parkway)
When: Parking- 5:30pm, Doors- 6:30pm, Show- 7:30pm
Why: If you are the type that considers boxing a sport, then check this out. This guy is from Woodland! Talk about support local, this guy may need some encouragement from the crowd. Vicente Escobedo (19-1-0, 12 KOs) is going up against Kevin Kelley (60-9-2, 39 KOs). Vicente Escobedo has won his last 10 fights including an impressive 6th round Total Knock Out of previously undefeated Dominic Salcido. Kevin Kelley is a former WBC featherweight champion.
Info: Arco Arena Events

Literature: Meet “Pucci Lewis” Author Margit Leische-- Free w/ Museum admission: $6-$8.50 (Kids 5 & under Free)
Where: California Museum for Women History & the Arts
When: 6pm-8pm
Why: I find it interesting to hear how authors come up with the stories the write, particularly fiction. What inspires them and how much do they really know? Liesche is the author of Hollywood Buzz, the second edition of the World War II era Pucci Lewis series. “The book is rich with drama, historical fact, female sleuths and old Hollywood mystery.” Liesche extensively researched the film industry during World War II and female organizations like Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), which is the setting for this novel. She will give a lecture on the background of the book incorporating documentary footage of the WASP and film clips from the First Motion Picture Unit, featuring Hollywood stars. This should be a very interesting event. Bring your books if you got ‘em! If not, I’m sure there will be some to pick up at the signing.
Info: (916) 653-7524

Friday 5.1

Music: First Friday Night Concert in the Park!--FREE
Where: Cesar Chavez Park
When: Every Friday Night, 5:00-9:00pm
Why: This 15-week concert series will rock Cesar Chavez Plaza every Friday night from 5 pm to 9 pm with the sounds of live, local music. It’s sort of the “unofficial start” to summer for many Sacramentans.
Even in its 18th season, the Concerts in the Park series remains true to its roots by continuing to showcase Sacramento’s local music scene with this free, family friendly event. This season’s line up features a total of 51 local bands including 27 new acts to the park series. The bands reflect a broad spectrum of musical acts including blues, punk, country, rock, indie, soul, pop, reggae and hip hop. And for after the show, keep your concert wristband and receive specials at local bars and restaurants for that night.
Info: (916) 442-8575

Comedy: Chelsea Handler
Where: Community Center Theatre (13th & L St)
When: Doors, 7:00pm; Show, 8:00pm
Why: Handler has performed nationwide as a stand-up comedian and appeared on many TV shows. Most recently, she is known for hosting her own late night talk show on E! titled “Chelsea Lately”. With her style of ridicule and sarcasm, she draws more than a half million viewers with the show despite the fact that her guests often are not A-list celebrities. To give you a little perspective, in a 2008 interview Handler said, "The worse the guests are, the more pathetic they are, the funnier the show is”.
Info: (916) 808-5181

Film: Found Footage Festival--$10
Where: Movies on a Big Screen (600 4th St W. Sac)
When: 7pm & 9:30pm
Why: I am going. This is what sold me: “The Found Footage Festival is a one-of-a-kind event that showcases footage from videos that were found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters throughout the country. Curators Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher (whose credits include "The Colbert Report," "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Onion") will host the screenings in-person and provide their unique and hilarious observations and commentary on these found video obscurities. So yes - that means plenty of live comedy along with the found footage! From the curiously-produced industrial training video to the forsaken home movie donated to Goodwill, the Found Footage Festival resurrects these forgotten treasures and serves them up in a lively celebration of all things found.”~ Movies on a Big Screen
Info: http://www.shiny-object.com/screenings/

Fundraiser: An Affair to Remember--$45 adv/$60 at door
Where: Radisson Sacramento (500 Leisure Lane)
When: 7pm
Why: You may know someone who was a foster child or may have been one yourself. I hear it’s not always the easiest way to grow up. This event is a benefit in honor of foster care youth in transition. Guests will enjoy an exciting night of fine food, live music, and spring fashions while showcasing former foster care youth and their stories. Lots of “celebs” will be there too! A portion of the contributions from this event will be donated to foster care youth that "age out” of the system. The goal is to support 50 foster care youth throughout the Sacramento region.
Info: (916) 440-9703

Saturay 5.2

Festival: California Celebration!!-- $7-$9.50 (Kids under 2- Free)
Where: Sacramento Zoo (Land Park Drive & 16th)
When: 9am-4pm
Why: California Celebration is a fun-filled day all about the rich cultural diversity in our state. Animal talks, cultural groups, live performances and activity stations will fill the Zoo! Bring the kids and get some sun!
Info: (916) 808-3713

Music: The Skinny Singers- Jackie Greene & Tim Bluhm
Where: Marilyn’s on K (908 K Street)
When: 9pm
Why: They’re skinny but man do they have big voices!! These shows always sell out! If you haven’t seen them yet, make sure you make it to this one.
Info: (916) 446-4361

Festival: Indie Sacramento May Market-- FREE
Where: Fremont Park (15th & P St)
When: 12pm-3pm
Why: The purpose behind IndieSacramento is to help spread the word about locally owned businesses and to help Sacramento gain the reputation it deserves as a city with cutting-edge art, crafts, and fashion — plus great local shopping and eats. Some highlights:
* FREE swag bags to the first 150 patrons!
* Shop for hip, handmade goods, clothing, and accessories!
* Enjoy live entertainment!
* Appreciate local food & drink or plan a picnic lunch with the family!
* Attend IndieSacramento's Craft University for craft classes & demos!
Info: IndieSacramento.com

Festival: Dragon Boat Festival-- $50/person, $450/ Table of ten
Where: Radisson Hotel(500 Leisure Lane)
When: 3:30-5:30pm, outdoor reception; 5:30-8:00pm, formal dinner & program
Why: The Dragon Boat is a symbol of unity, civil rights and the future of our Asian Pacific Islander Community. About 2300 years ago, Qu Yuan, a Patriotic Poet and an exemplary for integrity and loyalty, advocated for justice and the rights of the common people. This year, OCA will honor Assemblymember Dave Jones for his commitment to the Asian Pacific Islander Community. OCA will be honoring Dr. Sonney Chong for his many years of community service. This year we are celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival as "A Timeless Tradition, A Culture We Treasure."
Info: (916) 627-5165

Class: Model A Tune Up Class-- $170 (includes instructional materials and lunch)
Where: California Auto Museum
When: 9pm-3pm, May 2nd & May 9th
Why: If you are lucky enough to own one of these bad boys, you probably know a thing or two already about fixing them up. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you want to take on a new hobby. If you’re an antique car junkie, this is a two-part class that teaches how to tune up Model A Fords. The first day focuses on demonstration of tests and measurements. The second day will consist of performing each of the demonstrated tests and measurements on Model As. Students who have a Model A are encouraged to bring their car with them and all checks will be performed on the owner’s vehicle. Students who do not have a Model A will still have the opportunity to assist with tests and measurements.
Info: (916) 442-6802

Festival: Unity & Diversity Music Festival-- $13 Adv/$20 at Gate (Kids 10 & Under FREE!!!)
Where: Southside Park
When: 10am-6pm
Why: The event will have fun & entertainment including a host of vendors, cultural foods, arts & crafts, raffles and prizes. The headliners are Butterscotch, a Sacramento/Davis native and former final contestant on NBC's America's Got Talent; and Mystic Roots, a talented reggae band from Chico. Other performers include: Ras D, Mr. Majestic, The Soulcialites, Ralph Gordon, Orquesta Bakan, Mystic Man & Lakay amongst others. Guaranteed to be a day of family fun and entertainment!! The website requests: NO ALCOHOL, COOLERS or PETS.
Info: (916) 993-3691

Fundraiser: Prelude d’ Elegance-- FREE
Where: Town & Country Village (Fulton & Marconi Avenue)
When: 10am-4pm
Why: A Concours d'Elegance is a show of vehicles that are judged on their elegance and pristine condition. Shriners' Prelude d'Elegance is a sneak preview of extraordinary classic and vintage automobiles, wooden boats, motorcycles and bicycles. Have some fun with their Keystone Cops and the Shriners Paddy Wagon – enjoy informal fashion shows and special discounts at participating stores throughout Town & Country Village.
Info: http://www.shrinersconcours.com/

Sunday 5.3

Festival: Jewish Heritage Festival--FREE
Where: California State Capitol- West Steps (10th and L St.)
When: 1pm-4pm
Why: In conjunction with national Jewish American Heritage Month, the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region* brings a new tradition to Sacramento - the first annual Jewish Heritage Festival. Celebrate all that unites us with traditional food, live music and entertainment, dancing troupes, cultural exhibits and displays, family and children’s activities, a special teen zone and much more.
Info: Jewish Heritage of Sacramento Website

Class: Yoga for Teachers--FREE
Where: It’s All Yoga (2405 21st St.- Between Broadway & X)
When: 2:00pm
Why: As a teacher, you work really hard. And you probably don't get the pampering you deserve. That's why It’s All Yoga is offering a FREE class just for you. In honor of Teachers Week, their very own Linda Wagner will stretch, open and pamper you with yoga! No yoga experience necessary. They have everything you will need - just wear comfy clothes.
Info: (916) 501-4692

All of these events can be found at Sacramento365.com, the year-round source for Sacramento events. For more information and details about the venues and organizations involved, click on the title of the events or visit www.Sacramento365.com.

10 things to do under $10 (and a few others...)

2009-04-14T07:12:19Z

This week there is no excuse! Despite this 'little' slump we're in, I was able to find a slew of cost efficient ways to entertain yourself throughout the week. There's a little something for everybody...

Tues 4.14
Music: Lipstick- $3 (before 10pm)
When: 8:00pm
Where: Old Ironsides
Why: A fusion of indie rock, pop, garage & electronic dance part. It's been going strong for 8 years. 'Nuff said.

Sports: Sacramento Rivercats v. Portland Beavers- $10+
When: 7:05pm
Where: Raley Field
Why: If I am going to go to any Baseball game, it's going to be this one. Who wouldn't want to see which of the water creatures prevails?

Wed 4.15
Music: Ari Hest w/ Hana Pestle- $8
When: 8:00pm
Where: Marilyns on K
Why: His music encompasses the longing everyone feels to jump in the old beat-up car and live like Jack Kerouac. Although he may be a few decades too late to be called a beatnik, with his rejection of the major label, long hair and songs about chasing miracles, Hest would make Kerouac proud.

Music: Rowdy Kate- $8
When: 9:00pm
Where: Torch Club
Why: Rowdy Kate came together in late 2006 and began performing around Sacramento and the Central Valley. They bring a fresh take to old school honky tonk classics along with their own brand of clever country. From Keris fiery vocals to Geoffs stinging telecaster, their live show is a must see.

Wine & Dine: Picnic Basket Battles- $10
When: 5:00-7:00pm
Where: 58 Degrees & Holding
Why: Compare Pinot Noir vs Beaujolais wines along with light hors d' oeuvres. You're bound to find something to bring to your next picnic! And just in time for spring...

Thurs 4.16
Comedy: Jeff Dunham- $45
When: 7:30pm
Where: Arco Arena
Why: Jeff Dunham is an award-winning ventriloquist and a stand-up comedian. He's performed on numerous comedy shows, including Comedy Central Presents in 2003. His usual puppets include a woozle named Peanut, a bitter old man named Walter, a dead terrorist named Achmed (one of my personal favorites) and José Jalapeño - a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick. Good stuff.

Club/Dance: DJ Kaskade- $20
When: 9:00pm
Where: The Park Ultra Lounge
Why: He is world renouned! Not to mention that he's my favorite DJ.

Fri 4.17
Wine & Dine: Artisan Cheeses of Sonoma- $45
When: 6:30-8:30pm
Where: Cest le Cheese- Penthouses @ Capital Park
Why: Celebrated chef, cheesemaker and culinary educator Sheana Davis pairs delectable cheeses from her favorite creameries with her selection of fine wines and accompanies them with other local flavors. Among the treats to be savored is her very own "Delice de la Valle" which is currently on the menu at the French Laundry. and Murray's Cheese Shop in New York.

Festival: Traders' Faire- Free!
When: 10:00am-5:00pm
Where: Sutters Fort
Why:Shop like An Early California Pioneer! In a unique program, vendors of merchandise of the kind found during the 1800's will set up their tents inside the Fort walls. Shoppers will find clothing, house wares, toys, beads, knives and more for sale during this three-day event. Visitors can also witness demonstrations of crafts and skills of the era presented by costumed docents and volunteers

Sat 4.18
Family: Healthy Kids day & Camp Cook-off- Free!
When: 10:00am-2:00pm
Where: Sacramento YMCA
Why: Fun & Free Family Event with games, food, music, & demonstrations!

Dance: Beer & Ballet 2- $25
When: 6:00pm & 8:00pm (next Saturday too!)
Where: Sacramento Ballet Studios
Why: Enjoy the casual atmosphere, watch contemporary & classically influenced dance along with friends and get yourself a glass of beer to boot! Watch as the professional Dancers of the Sacramento Ballet bring a totally different Beer & Ballet line up to the Sacramento Ballet’s Studio Stage.

Recreation: Marine Services Show- Free!
When: 9:00am
Where: Sacramento Marina
Why: With boating season just around the corner you won't want to miss this FREE Marine Services Show. Your one-stop shop to meet mechanics, canvas shops, detail shops and other providers of marine services

History: Historic Rose Garden Tour- Free!
When: 9:00am-2:00pm
Where: Historic City Cemetery
Why: Experience the splendor of heritage roses in a unique 19th Century setting! The Open Garden will feature free tours of the beautiful gardens located within the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery. The sale of rooted rose cuttings and snacks and a raffle will raise funds for the maintenance of the gardens.The Historic Rose Garden is a collection of over 400 ‘found’ roses collected from cemeteries and other sites where the original plants were planted 100 years or more ago.

Sun 4.19
Art: Buddha- Closing Celebration- A Mass Meditation- Free!
When: 3:00pm
Where: Crocker Art Museum
Why: Mark the closing of Buddha with a mass mediation led by Lama Jinpa of Lions Roar Dharma Center and Michael Halfhill, founding member of the Dalai Lama Foundation.

Music: Blues Guitar Showdown- $20
When: 2:00pm
Where: Sacramento Horseman's Club
Why: Blues+BBQ+Bar= Good Times! This showdown will feature: Michael Burks- the "Iron man of Blues", Tommy Castro- Contemporary West Coast Blues, & Roy Gaines- a 50 year Blues veteran.

Family: ZooZoom- 29th Annual Run/Walk- $12-$30
When: 7:00am-12:00pm
Where: Sacramento Zoo
Why: Join the stampede as thousands of runners raise funds to benefit the Zoo. Are you as fast as a hare or as slow as a tortoise? There are options for everyone from a 5K to a 10K to the Saucony ‘Run for Good’ & Kid’s Fun Runs.

Find details to these events along with many more at www.Sacramento365.com, the year-round source for Sacramento events.

Where did the library go?

2009-02-26T18:46:38Z

Who has a copy of Kate Gaffney at The Torch Club? Where can I hear the Dead's 1981 New Years Shows? Blockbuster doesn't carry my favorite movie "Attack of the Killer Leeches" where do I go? Quick where can I find a copy of Householders and Landers paper "Mathematical biophysics of the central nervous system"? These are questions one might find themselves asking themselves, and thanks to the "Internet Archives" ( www.archive.org ) there is now a one stop location that answers these questions and countless more. Questions you didn't even know you needed to ask!

This is what the Archives have to say about themselves: "The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format." I feel this statement, does not begin to do this organizton and site justice. To me, this sight is a launch pad for wonderful adventures.

Digging a little deeper , one begins to realize the true motivation of the folks who have been developing this site since 1996; "Open and free access to literature and other writings has long been considered essential to education and to the maintenance of an open society" "...without cultural artifacts, civilization has no memory and no mechanism to learn from its successes and failures..." The dedicated staff sure is doing their job on this end, and what a "mechanism" they are creating.

I have spent most of my exploration at the "Live Music Archive", which contains over 58,000 concerts (so much music, so little time...). This site allows for listening and quite often downloading songs and / or complete shows from literally thousands of bands & musicians. While an avid user of various P2P sites, the archives goes much beyond what any of these sites can offer. There is no doubt of legality, not to mention the virus' and other dangers found on most P2P sites. The Grateful Dead is the largest contributor to the Live Music Archive, with over 6,000 entries, but they are far from dominating the site. A quick glance will find offerings from quite a variety of sources, such as; "Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band", Warren Zevon, "Quagmire Swim Team" or the "Retribution Gospel Choir", and even this years Party in the Park headliners "The Waybacks" . The site is updated almost daily, and treasure hunters will find plenty to keep them happy, (I look forward to seeing the infamous David Barton make an appearance soon!)

I sure don't consider myself a researcher, historian or scholar, but the Archives provide plenty for me. I hope all reading this will take the time to explore this site, and pass the word. This is a precious resource, and needs to be enjoyed and supported. I personally send my kudos and thanks to the creators, maintainers and contributors of this great resource, it sure goes a long way to ensure we are able to Keep Smilin'!

Rapper Hopsin to perform in Sacramento.

2009-02-24T07:42:08Z

Do you remember the goofy kid in your class? What if that goofy kid turned out to be a rapper on the rise? That is exactly what happened to Ruthless Records recording artist, Hopsin.

Wednesday, Feb. 25th, Hopsin will be in Sacramento performing with hip hop veteran Kool Kieth.

A one-time aspiring actor, Hopsin discovered that music was his natural calling in 2001. He used to put acting before music, but when he read for parts, he couldn't always remember his lines. It was then he realized that music was his passion.

Unsatisfied with the current state of the hip hop game, Hopsin is trying to break out of the routine formulated rapper. He does not boast about being a tough or dangerous guy.

"I don't fake, I tell the truth to the fullest, everything I say is a real- life situation," he said.

Starting out in high school, Hopsin always made his own beats on a program called Fruity Loops, and continues to make his own music still to this day. Although he wouldn't mind working with other producers in the future, for now he is content with his own production skills.

His current single, "Pans in the Kitchen," is funky and different. Making the video for that single is one of his most exciting moments so far.

"It boggles the mind that it's me. I am the person in the front, not in the background," he says.

This Southern California native and former Special Ed student is looking to change the game with his not -so -big vocabulary, but staying true to himself and his sound –.Hoping to inspire other kids who feel like they are the odd ones out with his lyrics.

Hopsin will be performing at Harlow's at 2708 J Street.